Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Well balanced nutrition in childhood is important for the growth and development of the\nchild but it might also have long-term health implications. Several studies have identified a\ncommon concern that Danish and Swedish school children eat unhealthy snack food. Children’s\nfood choices and food preferences are influenced by several factors, such as liking,\nfood culture and the social environment. In order to promote healthy food choices there\nmight be a need for palatable and nutritious snack products developed to suit children’s preferences\nand food culture.\nConducted as part of a health promotion Danish project called “OPUS - New Nordic Diet”,\nthis study aimed to examine 8-10 year old school children’s acceptance and preference for\nmuesli bars composed of Nordic food ingredients and to compare Danish (n=100) and Swedish\n(n=100) school children’s acceptance and preferences for the muesli bars. A hedonic test\nusing a smiley scale was conducted to measure the children’s sensory acceptance of five\nmuesli bars varying in composition of whole grain cereals, dried berries, nuts and seeds. A\npreference rank-order of the five bars was also performed.\nChildren’s degree of acceptance varied between the five samples. Most liked were the muesli\nbars based on kamut and pumpkin seeds, and oat and cranberries. Least liked was the muesli\nbar based on pumpernickel and buckthorn. Similar results were found in both countries. The\npreferences were highly influenced by the sensory characteristics of the bars. Above all, the\nflavour and taste of the bars tended to have an important influence on children’s preferences.\nThe muesli bars have great potential to promote healthy food choices but further researches\nare needed to find out if they will be accepted even in the long term.
Author: Anna Holmer
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1585197317