Toddler Tastes Study

Description

The goal of this study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of two food preference learning approaches for toddlers that could serve as alternatives to mere repeated exposure to new or previously disliked foods. The target population is toddlers who score higher on food fussiness. The study is a two-group randomized controlled trial. Families will be randomized to 1 of 2 study groups: associative conditioning, or the child tasting vegetables alongside a palatable dip, or modeling, in which the child and parent taste vegetables together. Both groups will attend two laboratory visits, one before and one after a 4-week exposure period, and will be asked to complete 8 vegetable tastings in accordance with their assigned condition across the 4 intervention weeks. Key questions to be addressed are: * summarizing the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention strategies * assessing whether children's liking and intake of the target food increase from baseline to post-intervention

Conditions

Dietary Behavior

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Study Overview

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Study Details

Study overview

The goal of this study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of two food preference learning approaches for toddlers that could serve as alternatives to mere repeated exposure to new or previously disliked foods. The target population is toddlers who score higher on food fussiness. The study is a two-group randomized controlled trial. Families will be randomized to 1 of 2 study groups: associative conditioning, or the child tasting vegetables alongside a palatable dip, or modeling, in which the child and parent taste vegetables together. Both groups will attend two laboratory visits, one before and one after a 4-week exposure period, and will be asked to complete 8 vegetable tastings in accordance with their assigned condition across the 4 intervention weeks. Key questions to be addressed are: * summarizing the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention strategies * assessing whether children's liking and intake of the target food increase from baseline to post-intervention

Developing Tailored Clinical Resources for Promoting Children's Healthy Food Preferences

Toddler Tastes Study

Condition
Dietary Behavior
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Buffalo

Child Health and Behavior Lab at the University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Child is 18-36 months old
  • * Parent/guardian is 18 years of age or older
  • * Parent/guardian participating is the primary caregiver of the child
  • * Child is not diagnosed with a physical or mental health condition (e.g., allergies to study foods, ARFID or autism diagnosis) that would impact safe or feasible participation
  • * Participants are English speakers
  • * Child is high on food fussiness, defined as a 2.5 or above on the food fussiness scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire for toddlers
  • * The child is outside the age range of 18-36 months at enrollment, as verified by birth date
  • * Child is diagnosed with a physical or mental health condition that precludes safe or feasible participation
  • * The parent/guardian is less than 18 years old
  • * The parent/guardian participating is not the primary caregiver of the child
  • * Participants are not English speakers
  • * Child is low on food fussiness, defined as below a 2.5 on the food fussiness scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire for toddlers

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Months to

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

State University of New York at Buffalo,

Study Record Dates

2025-12-31