Efeito do teatro de fantoches educativos no consumo e aceitação de vegetais por crianças em fase pré-escolar

Abstract

This study aimed evaluate the effectiveness of an audiovisual stimulus in improving the consumption of fruits and vegetables by preschool children (2 to 6 years old). Ninety nine preschool children participated of the study. They were divided into four groups: Isolated Control Group (GCI), Collective Control Group (GCC), Isolated Stimulated Group (GEI), and Collectively Stimulated Group (GEC). The groups were adapted to two experimental schools, with and without stimulus, which the children were offered a portion of papaya and a portion of beetroot. These foods were selected from preference scale applied to parents, with the aim of finding the vegetables with less acceptance by the participants. Only the stimulated groups received, prior to the offer of food, a presentation of an educational puppet theater, addressing the issue of the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption. The remains of each mass were weighed for the individual calculation of the Remaining Ingestion (%). An appropriate hedonic scale was used to assess children's acceptance of the foods offered. It was observed that, when performed individually, the educational puppet theater had a positive effect on the consumption of papaya and beetroot, the RI in 45.7% and 32.8%, respectively, and in 47% and 41.4%, when performed collectively. However, there was no change in acceptance by children after using the stimulus. Thus, it is concluded that the educational puppet theater can be a simple and economical resource, capable of improving the variety of food and encouraging the consumption of healthy foods by preschool children.