'Power Peas'? Wacky Names Makes Kids Gobble Down Their Veggies!

Does your cute little preschooler adamantly refuse to take a second look at a boring plate of veggies? Well, here's a tip - try giving the veggies wacky names like 'Power Peas'; and watch as the magic unfolds!

According to a new study, labelling vegetables with catchy names, such as X-Ray Vision Carrots and Tomato Bursts, leave preschoolers wanting for more.

As per lead author Brian Wansink, writer of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Eat More Than We Think", tots ended up eating more vegetables once a little fun was added to the names.

The Cornell University research examined 186 four-year olds, who were provided with carrots titled "X-ray Vision Carrots", and found that they ate almost twice as much as on the lunch days that carried simply titled "carrots".

The Robert Wood Johnson-funded study further discovered that kids continued to have around 50 per cent more carrots even on the days when they were no longer titled.

Wansink said: "Cool names can make for cool foods. Whether it be 'power peas' or 'dinosaur broccoli trees,' giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat. And it seems to keep working - even the next day."

Boffins believed similar results could be repeated with kids, with researcher Collin Payne saying: "I've been using this with my kids. Whatever sparks their imagination seems to spark their appetite."

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The new findings were presented at the annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association in Washington DC.

Source-ANI
TAN/L