Promoting Vegetable Consumption among Malaysian Young Children

Abstract

Vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet but unfortunately in young children, they are not
well accepted and under-consumed. This paper highlights key themes and research needs in understanding
how children can be raised to eat and enjoy vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Several factors prevent
Malaysian young children from eating as much vegetables as experts consider to be optimal for children's
nutrition, health and development. They include biological and behavioural factors related to children
development, factors involving the household, the wider community, economic limitations, and some
government policies and programs. These factors or barriers must be understood in order to motivate children
to eat more vegetables; gaps should be filled in research concerning the matter. We summarize the basis of
this subject and the applicational work required to create more successful messages, improve strategies for
parents and teachers, and implement better governmental policies and programs.