Vegetable Consumption Among Children: An Analysis of Preferences and Types of Vegetables

Vegetable are essential for the growth and development of children. Unfortunately, the average daily vegetable intake among children still falls below the recommended level. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the categories of vegetable consumption among children and examine differences in vegetable intake based on gender and socioeconomic status. This study employed random sampling involving two Year 1 classes at an SJKC school in Melaka. A total of 50 students were selected as samples, consisting of 25 boys and 25 girls. The study utilized a quantitative survey design and was conducted in two phases. However, the researcher focused only on the first phase, which involved conducting a pilot study to analyse vegetable consumption data for the development of a module. The second phase will involve the development of a module using the Storytelling approach to influence children's behaviour toward vegetable consumption. The findings from descriptive analysis indicated that the majority of Year 1 students enjoy eating vegetables. The most preferred vegetable was broccoli, while the least preferred was eggplant. Meanwhile, inferential analysis revealed no significant relationship between gender and vegetable preference levels. However, a significant relationship was found between preference levels and household income. The implications of this study provide an important foundation for developing a module to enhance vegetable consumption among children in the second phase and offer preliminary insights for teachers regarding their students' dietary habits.