How design can help kids eat their broccoli
Press
Given the abundance, convenience, and heavy marketing of junk foods, it makes sense that Americans overconsume solid fats and added sugars, and have diets low in micronutrients.
In his book, “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite,” former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler says that many of the foods created by large food companies today are designed to be “irresistible,” to provide ideal sensory pleasure through visual appeal, aroma, taste and flavor, texture, and mouth feel to entice consumers to keep coming back for more.
It’s no surprise then that most children, if offered a chocolate chip cookie or a plate of raw broccoli, would probably choose the cookie.
There’s no reason, though, that similar design strategies and techniques used to make junk food irresistible can’t be used to make fruit and vegetable snacks irresistible, too. Food design, after all, is about more than the food – it’s also about creating an experience around the food that’s just as delicious as the food itself. And those experiences can impact behaviors – in this case, fostering better eating habits in kids.
Food companies and big brands – as well as moms and dads – can employ four important experience techniques to make fruits and veggies more desirable to kids.
Read the full article at Food Product Design Magazine.