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"See, Hear, Touch, Smell, and,...Eat!": Helping Children Self-Improve Their Food Literacy and Eating Behavior through a Tangible Multi-Sensory Puzzle Game

Published: 17 June 2024 Publication History

Abstract

Picky eating behavior is common in preschoolers and has been linked to a lack of food literacy with support from certain research. Recent research has focused on interventions for children’s mealtime behaviors which can lead to distraction and neglect of food literacy learning. We propose FeastyMaze, a tangible and multi-sensory interactive puzzle game for young children to improve eating behavior. With the Five-color Diet Theory, our approach enables children to actively learn about food nutrition and balanced diets. To evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of FeastyMaze, we conducted a user study with preschoolers (N = 12) who exhibited picky eating behaviors. The results showed that it effectively increased children’s familiarity and understanding of food knowledge, built positive attitudes towards previously disliked foods, and had the potential to improve their eating behavior.

Supplemental Material

MP4 File
We introduce FeastyMaze, a multi-sensory tangible interaction game designed to promote children's food literacy. By engaging with food puzzles and solving food riddles, children develop a stronger cognitive connection between food and sensory experiences, leading to improved understanding and healthier eating habits. This video demonstrates the design concept of FeastyMaze and how to use it.

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  1. "See, Hear, Touch, Smell, and,...Eat!": Helping Children Self-Improve Their Food Literacy and Eating Behavior through a Tangible Multi-Sensory Puzzle Game

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    IDC '24: Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference
    June 2024
    1049 pages
    ISBN:9798400704420
    DOI:10.1145/3628516
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    Published: 17 June 2024

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    Author Tags

    1. CCI
    2. food literacy education
    3. games
    4. multi-sensory interaction
    5. puzzles
    6. tangible user interface

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    • the Engineering Research Center of Computer-Aided Product Innovation Design Ministry of Education
    • Leading Goose R&D Program of Zhejiang
    • the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

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    IDC '24: Interaction Design and Children
    June 17 - 20, 2024
    Delft, Netherlands

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