Potatoes as a Strategy to Improve Diet Quality in Young Children

April 1, 2026 updated by: Emily Hohman, Penn State University
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.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The overall object of this study is to test potato-based strategies to improve diet quality in preschool age children. The specific aims are:

Aim 1: Determine if pairing potatoes with other less-preferred vegetables increases liking and intake of the non-potato vegetables.

Aim 2: Determine if potato-based dishes can be used strategically to reduce intake of more energy-dense entrees.

The effect of potato-based dishes on vegetable intake and total energy intake will be tested across four lunch-time sessions in preschool classrooms. Each lunch session will be randomly assigned to one of the potato dish conditions.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 16802
        • Pennsylvania State University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Child:

  • Enrolled in participating Head Start classroom
  • Age 2-6 years old

Parent:

  • Parent/guardian of a participating child
  • Age 18 years or older
  • Able to read and answer questions in English

Teacher:

  • Teacher/teaching staff member of a participating Head State classroom
  • Age 18 years or older
  • Able to read and answer questions in English

Exclusion Criteria:

Child:

  • Allergy to potatoes
  • Children who are not able to understand and answer questions in English may participate in all parts of the study except for the taste test ratings, which require the child to communicate with the research assistant

Parent:

- Child not enrolled in the study

Teacher exclusion criteria:

- None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Randomization order 1
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
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch
Experimental: Randomization order 2
Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) no potato, 2) potato + vegetable, 3) potato and vegetable separate, and 4) potato appetizer
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch
Experimental: Randomization order 3
Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) potato and vegetable separate, 2) potato appetizer, 3) no potato, and 4) potato + vegetable
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch
Experimental: Randomization order 4
Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) potato appetizer, 2) no potato, 3) potato and vegetable separate, and 4) potato + vegetable
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch
Experimental: Randomization order 5
Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) no potato, 2) potato and vegetable separate, 3) potato + vegetable, and 4) potato appetizer
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch
Experimental: Randomization order 6
Participants will complete the four conditions in the following order: 1) potato + vegetable, 2) potato and vegetable separate, 3) potato appetizer, and 4) no potato
Other: Potato + vegetable
A mixed dish of potatoes and other vegetables will be served at lunch
Other: Potato appetizer
A potato dish will be served as an appetizer at lunch prior to the main course
Other: Potato and vegetable separate
A potato dish and a vegetable dish will be served separately at lunch
Other: No potato
No potato dish will be served at lunch

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intake of target vegetable at lunch
Time Frame: At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
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
Time Frame: At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
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
Time Frame: Once at start of study
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 Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Willingness to taste vegetable + potato dishes
Time Frame: Once at beginning of study
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 were willing to taste the vegetable with potato (VEG+POT) dishes to the percentage that were willing to taste the same non-potato vegetable alone (VEG).
Once at beginning of study
Intake of potatoes at lunch
Time Frame: At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Intake of the potato dish 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
Total vegetable intake at lunch
Time Frame: At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Total intake of potato and non-potato vegetables will be measured at each lunch session by weighing the food dishes prior to serving and after the participant has finished eating
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Total energy intake at lunch
Time Frame: At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks
Total energy intake in kcal will be measured at each lunch session by weighing the food dishes prior to serving and after the participant has finished eating
At each of four lunch sessions conducted once per week over four weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Penn State University

Collaborators

Alliance for Potato Research and Education

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Emily E Hohman, PhD, Penn State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 1, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00027376

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Deidentified individual participant data will be shared by depositing the data set and relevant metadata into a scientific data repository.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be shared after publication of the primary outcome manuscripts and will be available indefinitely.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Researcher will be able to access the deidentified IPD using protocols established by the data repository.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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