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

Xueyan Cai, Kecheng Jin, Shang Shi, Shichao Huang, Ouying Huang, Xiaodong Wang, Jiahao Cheng, Weijia Lin, Jiayu Yao, Yuqi Hu, Chao Zhang, Cheng Yao

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference
Subtitle of host publicationInclusive Happiness, IDC 2024
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages270-281
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9798400704420
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jun 2024
Externally publishedYes
Event23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, IDC 2024 - Delft, Netherlands
Duration: 17 Jun 202420 Jun 2024

Publication series

NameProceedings of ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference: Inclusive Happiness, IDC 2024

Conference

Conference23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, IDC 2024
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityDelft
Period17/06/2420/06/24

Keywords

  • CCI
  • food literacy education
  • games
  • multi-sensory interaction
  • puzzles
  • tangible user interface

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Education
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Software
  • Media Technology
  • Communication

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