(P27-044-25) Pacing and Time Interval Are Important for Repeated Exposure Effects on Infant Novel Food Acceptance

Objectives: Repeated exposure is an established method to improve infants’ acceptance of novel foods during the complementary feeding period. The standard approach for repeated exposure requires intense exposure over a 2-week period. However, few studies have investigated how extending the exposure period may influence novel food acceptance. We tested whether pacing of repeated exposure to a novel food predicted infants’ consumption of the food post-exposure and at extinction. We hypothesized that no differences would be found across exposure conditions.

Methods: Fifty-nine infant- (mean [SD] age=11 mo [2]; 41% female) caregiver (age=32 y [4]; 20% Hispanic) dyads were enrolled and completed the baseline visit. Dyads were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 home exposure schedules with artichoke as the target novel food: 1) 10 exposures in 2 weeks (Standard), 2) 5 exposures in 2 weeks, a 2-week break, then 5 more exposures in 2 weeks (Take a Break); and 3) 10 exposures in a 6-week period (Extended). Consumption (g) was measured in a laboratory setting at baseline, 6 weeks, and after a 6-week extinction period. Mixed effects models tested exposure schedule effect on change in amount consumed between baseline and 6 weeks, and 6 weeks and extinction. Models were adjusted for child age and sex; significance of the interaction was defined as p< 0.1 for small samples.

Results: Forty-five dyads completed all visits and were included in the current analysis (76% retention). At baseline, consumption did not differ among groups. At 6 weeks (post-exposure), all exposure groups showed increased consumption, with the Take a Break group consuming significantly more than the Standard and Extended groups (67.6 g [7.8] vs. 47.3 g [10.1] & 48.3 g [9.4], respectively; p=0.094). At extinction, both the Take a Break and the Extended groups consumed significantly more than the Standard group (49.4 g [7.3] & 62.3 g [9.5] vs. 25.6 g [8.8], respectively; p=0.008).

Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, standard, intense exposure resulted in a more modest increase in consumption while less frequent exposure over a longer duration resulted in sustained increases in children’s consumption of the target novel food. Thus, persistence, rather than intensity of exposure, may offer greater benefit for improving infants’ acceptance of novel complementary foods.

Funding Sources: The Vitamix Foundation funded this study.