How to facilitate the acceptance of fruits and vegetables in children: early feeding strategies

Présentation confidentielle.National audienceDespite recommendations throughout Europe to increase children's consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV), they remain below recommendations in many countries. For instance, in France, the National Program on Nutrition and Health recommends consuming five 80-gram portions of fruit and vegetables per day, but the consumption observed in three- to 10-year-old children in 2007 only reached 74 g for fruit and 67 g for vegetables. Thus, it is crucial to establish preferences for FV early, when children are learning to eat. We will summarize the factors that influence FV acceptance at the start of the CF period and during the first years of life: previous milk feeding experience; timing of onset of CF; repeated exposures to the food; variety of foods offered as of the start of the CF period; quality and sensory properties of the complementary foods; quality of the meal time context; and parental feeding style and practices