Abstract Environmental cues, such as the colour of food and dishware, have been shown to influence food and drink consumption in adult populations. This proof of concept study investigated whether plate colour could be utilised as a strategy to reduce intake of high energy density (HED) snacks and increase intake of low energy density (LED) snacks in pre-school children. In a between and within-subjects design, children were randomly assigned to either a control group (no colour message) or intervention group (received a colour message: red = stop, green = go) and were provided a snack at nursery on three occasions on differently coloured plates (red, green, white), for each snack type (HED, LED). Snack intake, colour preference, colour association, and anthropometrics were recorded for each child. The results showed that there was no effect of group (control vs intervention) on HED (p = 0.540) and LED intake (p = 0.575). No effect of plate colour on HED (p = 0.147) or LED snack intake (p = 0.505) was evident. Combining red and green plates for a chromatic versus achromatic comparison showed that there was no significant effect of chromatic plate on HED (p = 0.0503) and LED (p = 0.347) intakes. Despite receiving a brief learning intervention, the use of plate colour was found in the present study to be an ineffective strategy to control snack food intake in pre-school aged children. Rather, we suggest that food intake in young children may best be predicted by portion size, energy density and eating behaviour traits.

中文翻译：

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颜色作为饮食提示：餐盘颜色对学龄前儿童零食摄入量的影响

摘要 环境因素，例如食物和餐具的颜色，已被证明会影响成年人口的食物和饮料消费。这项概念验证研究调查了盘子颜色是否可以用作减少学龄前儿童高能量密度 (HED) 零食摄入量和增加低能量密度 (LED) 零食摄入量的策略。在受试者之间和受试者内设计中，儿童被随机分配到对照组（无颜色信息）或干预组（收到颜色信息：红色 = 停止，绿色 = 去），并在三个场合在托儿所提供零食在不同颜色的盘子（红色、绿色、白色）上，针对每种零食类型（HED、LED）。记录每个孩子的零食摄入量、颜色偏好、颜色关联和人体测量学。结果表明，组（对照组与干预）对 HED (p = 0.540) 和 LED 摄入量 (p = 0.575) 没有影响。盘子颜色对 HED (p = 0.147) 或 LED 零食摄入量 (p = 0.505) 没有明显影响。结合红色和绿色板进行彩色与消色差比较表明，彩色板对 HED (p = 0.0503) 和 LED (p = 0.347) 摄入量没有显着影响。尽管接受了简短的学习干预，但在本研究中发现使用盘子颜色是控制学龄前儿童零食摄入量的无效策略。相反，我们建议最好通过份量、能量密度和饮食行为特征来预测幼儿的食物摄入量。147) 或 LED 零食摄入量 (p = 0.505) 很明显。结合红色和绿色板进行彩色与消色差比较表明，彩色板对 HED (p = 0.0503) 和 LED (p = 0.347) 摄入量没有显着影响。尽管接受了简短的学习干预，但在本研究中发现使用盘子颜色是控制学龄前儿童零食摄入量的无效策略。相反，我们建议最好通过份量、能量密度和饮食行为特征来预测幼儿的食物摄入量。147) 或 LED 零食摄入量 (p = 0.505) 很明显。结合红色和绿色板进行彩色与消色差比较表明，彩色板对 HED (p = 0.0503) 和 LED (p = 0.347) 摄入量没有显着影响。尽管接受了简短的学习干预，但在本研究中发现使用盘子颜色是控制学龄前儿童零食摄入量的无效策略。相反，我们建议最好通过份量、能量密度和饮食行为特征来预测幼儿的食物摄入量。在本研究中发现使用盘子颜色对于控制学龄前儿童的零食摄入量是无效的策略。相反，我们建议最好通过份量、能量密度和饮食行为特征来预测幼儿的食物摄入量。在本研究中发现使用盘子颜色对于控制学龄前儿童的零食摄入量是无效的策略。相反，我们建议最好通过份量、能量密度和饮食行为特征来预测幼儿的食物摄入量。