Matmot i barnehagen: En studie av toåringers matneofobi og kosthold og hvordan dette kan endres

The primary purpose of the study is to map and investigate the relationship between food neophobia and the intake of different types of food among two-year-olds in kindergartens, and to develop, implement and evaluate the interventions. Food neophobia is the reluctance to eat, or the fear of, new foods. This is a normal part of toddler development, but food neophobia is nonetheless associated with lower diet quality and can reduce children’s enjoyment of food and general well-being. The aim of the article is to investigate kindergarten staff’s experiences of a health-related food intervention.

Study 1: A total of 505 two-year-olds took part in the cross-sectional study. Higher levels of food neophobia were associated with less frequent intake of vegetables.

Study 2: A total of 116 participating parents with two-year-olds in kindergarten took part in the Preschoolers’ Food Courage intervention (69 in intervention groups and 47 in the control group). Both the short-term and long-term effects of the intervention on 61 of the children were evaluated. No significant interventional effects were found on food neophobia either one or 18 months after the intervention. Nor was it found that the intervention had any impact on the children’s willingness to try food one month after the intervention. Kindergarten employees participated in the evaluation process and five main themes emerged from the interviews: i) Successful development of sensory knowledge in the children; ii) Food neophobia; iii) Implementation of new routines as a challenge; iv) Lack of cooking skills; and v) Inspiration to continue work on the introduced changes. As a result of the interventions, it emerged that the kindergarten staff wished to continue with parts of the intervention in the future. The intervention period was described as both challenging and inspiring. The overall interpretation was that the implementation presented several challenges, especially regarding cooking and the implementation of healthy diet guidelines.

The doctoral thesis is divided into two studies. Study 1 is a cross-sectional study and Study 2 is a cluster-randomised controlled intervention study. Study 1 aimed to describe the relationship between food neophobia and the intake of different types of foods among a sample of Norwegian two-year-olds in kindergartens. The data was collected in collaboration with another doctoral project, The SBL Project.  This involved collecting data through mapping the parents’ diet, activity and transport habits. A two-part electronic survey was developed for this data collection. A total of 301 kindergartens wished to participate. In addition, 3100 parents were invited to participate in Study 1. 605 parents from 207 kindergartens wished to participate. 530 (17%) of the invited participants answered the survey.

The purpose of Study 2 was to develop an intervention, implement the intervention and evaluate it with a cluster-randomised control study. The intervention included three phases: sensory experiences of food, preparing and serving meals that contained the food from the first phase, and implementing healthy diet guidelines both in kindergarten and at home.

Both Study 1 and Study 2 were conducted within one kindergarten year. The children were randomised at group level. Subsequently, the children’s parents were recruited. Neither the parents nor the kindergartens in the control group were to make any changes, but continue their usual food and meal practices. The control group departments and the intervention group departments were located in different kindergartens. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used when evaluating the intervention.

Helland, S. H. (2019). «Matmot i barnehagen: En studie av toåringers matneofobi og kosthold og hvordan dette kan endres». Akademisk avhandling. Universitetet i Agder.