Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to examine whether incorporating potatoes into meals-either paired with other vegetables or served as a first course-can improve preschoolers' vegetable intake, reduce excess energy intake, and improve overall diet quality. Findings will be used to inform whether potatoes, a well-liked and commonly consumed vegetable, could be leveraged in several ways to improve the overall diet quality of children.

Trial Health

On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment

200

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline

7mo left

Started Mar 2026

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach

1 country

1 active site

Status

enrolling by invitation

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

9 months study duration

Study Progress25%

Mar 2026Dec 2026

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 14, 2026

Completed

8 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 22, 2026

Completed

1 month until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 1, 2026

Completed

9 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2026

Expected

Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2026

Last Updated

April 2, 2026

Status Verified

April 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

9 months

First QC Date

January 14, 2026

Last Update Submit

April 1, 2026

Conditions

Dietary Intake

Keywords

vegetablespotatoespreschoolHead Start

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

Intake of target vegetable at lunch
Intake of the non-potato target vegetable will be measured at each lunch session by weighing the food dish prior to serving and after the participant has finished eating
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Entree intake at lunch
Intake of an energy-dense entree (macaroni and cheese) will be measured at each lunch session by weighing the food dish prior to serving and after the participant has finished eating
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Liking of vegetable + potato dishes
Children will be presented with small samples of several vegetable, potato, and vegetable + potato dishes and asked to taste them. Children will rate each food as 'yummy', 'just ok', or 'yucky' using a pictorial scale. We will compare the percentage of children who rate the vegetable with potato (VEG+POT) dishes as yummy to the percentage that rated the same non-potato vegetable alone (VEG) as 'yummy'.
Once at start of study

Secondary Outcomes (4)

Willingness to taste vegetable + potato dishes
Once at beginning of study
Intake of potatoes at lunch
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Total vegetable intake at lunch
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Total energy intake at lunch
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks

Study Arms (6)

Randomization order 1

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) potato + vegetable, 2) potato appetizer, 3) no potato, and 4) potato and vegetable separate