Kids Eat 36% More Veggies on Illustrated Plates

We have some exciting news to share! New, independent research has shown that kids eat 36% more veggies when they use our very own illustrated MyPlates.

This is a huge milestone for us. Getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables has been the mission of Super Healthy Kids from our very first blog post in 2007. We created and produced the MyPlate for kids that year because we wanted a way to make balanced, healthy meals fun and easy to learn for kids and their parents. You can see what one of the earlier versions of our plates looked like below:

We’ve always known that our plates encourage kids to eat more veggies. Now, research has confirmed what parents and health educators have been telling us for years!

Independent research published in JAMA Pediatrics earlier this month found that preschoolers who ate off divided plates ate 36% more veggies during mealtimes than their peers eating off plain white plates.

A few details about the study: 235 children between the ages of 3-5 were included. Teachers briefly explained to the children the way Health Beet plates work, then allowed them to serve themselves and choose how much to eat.

The researchers weighed the fruits and veggies taken and eaten by the kids using Health Beet plates and compared the amounts to those taken and eaten by kids using regular white plates.

We’re honored the researchers chose these plates to conduct their research. And we’re inspired to know that the tools we create can help shape healthy lifelong habits for a whole generation of kids!

Related Choose My Plate posts:

• MyPlate focus on fruits and veggie
• Myplate guide to portion sizes