How to influence children to eat healthy diets

Over the past ten years the Bangor Food Research Unit has perfected a learning programme that greatly increases children's consumption of fruit and vegetables. This innovative programme, which uses video heroes (e.g., the Food Dudes) and small rewards to influence children to taste the foods, has been put to systematic experimental test in homes, schools and nursery settings. The present paper outlines the results of a series of studies that investigate a whole-school version of the Food Dudes programme, designed to be effective across the age range of any primary school (i.e., 4-11 years) and suitable for implementation by school staff themselves. The research has been conducted in schools in England, Wales and Ireland. The results show that with a modest investment in resources, it is possible for governments to bring about major and long-lasting improvements to school children's diets. This could have major health benefits for millions of children wordwide.