Children's thinking about food and eating--a Piagetian-based study
1981
Contento, Isobel
The theory of cognitive development, espoused by Piaget, was used as a basis to investigate whether children understand the concept of nutrients, their relationship with food, and its effect on the body. Interviews with 34 children, aged 5-11, of various backgrounds, were analyzed by content and Piagetian stages. Ten children demonstrated preoperational thinking and 24 showed concrete operational thinking. There were distinct perceptual differences between the 2 groups; for example, preoperational children exhibited no recognition of any fundamental transformation of food after it was eaten, whereas concrete operational children knew that food was changed somehow. There was no connection made between nutrients in food, the eating process, and nutrition effects of foods. The results tend to support Piagetian theory that children cannot learn concepts beyond their cognitive capacity; activity-based teaching strategies which emphasize the child's interaction with real objects or events may facilitate nutrition education. (cj)
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