# To Taste or Not to Taste: A Narrative Review of the Effectiveness of Taste and Non-Taste Exposures on the Dietary Intake of Head Start Children

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how taste and non-taste food exposures affect the dietary habits of Head Start children, finding that combining both methods is most effective.

## Contribution

The paper provides a narrative review comparing taste and non-taste food exposures in Head Start children, emphasizing the effectiveness of combining both methods.

## Key findings

- Taste and non-taste exposures together improve children's willingness to try, consume, and like food.
- Using taste or non-taste exposures alone yields inconsistent results in improving dietary intake.
- Head Start programs should implement combined food exposure activities to enhance nutrition outcomes.

## Abstract

Objectives: Limited variety in children’s diets impairs lifelong nutrition and health. Head Start is a federal program serving expectant families and children in the United States living at or below the poverty line to the age of five. Head Start children face barriers to nutrient intake. Many nutrition education curricula are implemented in Head Start settings; however, few have addressed whether taste or non-taste food exposures are more effective and appropriate for improving dietary intake in this population. This review evaluates if taste or non-taste exposures are more effective at increasing willingness to try, consume, and like food in children participating in Head Start. Methods: PubMed was searched for studies published in the last 10 years with children aged 2 to 12 years. Included studies had an intervention with exposure to food or its likeness, focusing on those studying Head Start or similar samples. Articles were excluded if they referenced exposure to marketing, disease, or foodborne illness. Results: Searches yielded 903 results. 51 articles were screened, and 15 were included in the narrative. Studies revealed that combinations of taste and non-taste exposures improved children’s willingness to try, consume, and like food. Conclusions: Taste and non-taste exposures, when used independently, inconsistently affect children’s willingness to try, consume, and like food; exposures are most effective when combined, although research on the topic faces limitations of study design and environmental controls. With federal standards for nutrition, Head Start programs should implement food exposure activities. Additional studies with improved designs and controls for exposure to the environment should be completed in this population to increase the validity and reliability of food exposure research.