Promoting Nutrition Literacy and Food Neophilia of Middle School Children Through a Serious Hybrid Game

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the impact of a serious hybrid game on nutrition literacy and the promotion of food neophilia and, consequently, the diversification of children’s food choices from 10 to 12 years old. FlavourGame is a serious hybrid game that combines a digital component (based on a mobile application, which helps players during the game, acting as an assistant that guides the game’s tasks) with a board game. Real foods with their flavors, aromas, and textures were introduced as props to the players during the game. Nutrition messages were also included in the initial cutscene (mobile application) and in the Curiosity’s Cards about food and nutrition. The intervention group involved two different groups of children, in total 19 participants, from 10 to 12 years old, tested the FlavourGame. Sociodemographic information, eating habits, and food neophobia data were collected. A 12-question nutrition quiz was also administered at the beginning and at the end of the game session to evaluate the game’s impact on nutrition knowledge. A control intervention involving 26 children (6–12 years old) was conducted. The results suggested that Flavourgame could be used as a strategy to address and overcome children’s fear or aversion to new foods and encourage them to try a variety of foods. Regarding nutrition knowledge acquisition, FlavourGame did not show a great performance, but if children continue playing (as expected in a game) the contact with nutrition facts and messages will persist, and, certainly, the knowledge acquisition will improve. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.