Food-related sensory activities for children in educational settings
A scoping review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14649291 |
|---|---|
| Authors | H Weiser (0009-0008-7449-3510, Umeå University, corresponding author), Maria Waling (0000-0001-9743-8567, Umeå University), Ingela Bohm (0000-0002-9898-7055, Umeå University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 216 |
| Pages | 108259 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Appetite (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0195-6663 • E-ISSN: 1095-8304 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108259 |
| PMID | 40803035 |
| OpenAlex | W4413105726 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 59 |
Hands-on activities, where children explore food with their senses, are of interest for their potential to promote healthy eating. Various food-related sensory activities (FRSA) have been developed as interventions, but design, delivery and outcome variation challenge a robust evaluation of programs. Some argue that a focus on health is narrow and that FRSA could foster other competences, including non-health dimensions of sustainability. The objective of this scoping review was therefore to examine insights from the scientific literature regarding types, aims, perceived benefits, outcome measures and connections to sustainability of FRSA targeting children in educational settings. PRISMA-ScR was used. Three databases were searched in Spring 2024, resulting in 25 included articles. The FRSA were categorized into two main types and four subtypes. The most common aims, perceived benefits, and outcome measures were related to improving children's healthy eating. It has also been suggested that FRSA might foster critically conscious consumers and socially competent individuals, and support product development. Yet, these aspects were only partially evaluated in the studies reviewed. While environmental dimensions of sustainable eating were recognized, some of the competences related to being critically conscious and socially competent may also be important for sustainable development. Future research may explore FRSA's potential contributions to outcomes other than physical health
Cognitive psychology · Sensory system · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Psychology
JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis
Tracking of obesity-related behaviours from childhood to adulthood
Taste Preferences and Food Intake
Factors Influencing Children’s Eating Behaviours
Consistent dietary patterns identified from childhood to adulthood
Systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions to improve daily fruit and vegetable intake in children aged 5 to 12 y
Recommendations for the extraction, analysis, and presentation of results in scoping reviews
Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews
The qualitative content analysis process
Food in the Anthropocene
Sensory-based food education in early childhood education and care, willingness to choose and eat fruit and vegetables, and the moderating role of maternal education and food neophobia
The taste of biodiversity
Taste in food education
Changing children's eating behaviour - A review of experimental research
Qualitative Content Analysis
A bumpy road”
Evaluation of a pilot sensory play intervention to increase fruit acceptance in preschool children
Play with your food! Sensory play is associated with tasting of fruits and vegetables in preschool children
Exposure to foods' non-taste sensory properties. A nursery intervention to increase children's willingness to try fruit and vegetables
Effect of sensory education on willingness to taste novel food in children
VeggieSense
High willingness-to-taste in UK children aged 4–7 years was driven by contextual facilitation, not intervention, in a randomized controlled trial of sensory food education
Exploring the senses of taste with young children
The Sensory Experience of Food
Those Things That Hold Us Together
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |