An Apple a Day

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Ever since I was a little tyke, I have been eating a whole apple, pretty much every day.  Yes, WHOLE apple- from stem to stern, core (and pits included).  Yes, my parents did not approve.  (Oh, this was only one of many items that I provided them for their disapproval.)

It’s so convenient to grab an apple and go.   And, never search for a garbage pail or bag to deal with the debris.

Now, my kids, with only one exception did not find this process of apple eating very enjoyable.  So, I purchased an apple corer/slicer so they would enjoy the apple a day they were proffered.

And, to be honest, if I am going to be watching TV in the family room and enjoy an apple, I will more often than not slice the apple for my own consumption.  Not because I don’t like the core anymore, but because it means the apple will not be consumed in 30 seconds, but may last more than a few minutes.

Interestingly, providing apples or arranges as part of the National School Lunch Program does not ensure that they will be eaten, either.    There are several reasons for this problem.  Kids with missing teeth (younger) or older kids who have braces find it difficult to bite into and enjoy the apple.  Others think (ok, this is mostly girls- which means their mothers are probably teaching them this) it is unattractive to eat a whole fruit in front of others.

Those were the reasons found by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab (Drs. Brian Wansink, David Just, and Andrew Hanks, plus Laura Smith).  So, they decided to do some pilot studies.   The results were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

They purchased commercial fruit slicers for eight local community schools.  And, each time a child requested a fruit, they were instantly (ok, it took about four seconds) sliced.   And, over the course of the study, they found 61% more fruit was purchased and consumed.

To verify the results, six more middle schools were added to the study. Three were provided fruit slicers and three had none.   The results were similar- 71% more fruit was sold where it was sliced and about the same number (73%) consumed more than ½ the apple slices.

So, for less than $ 200, the schools were able to meet the objectives of augmenting fruit consumption.

This study is slightly different from the results that were found  by Drs. Mark Swanson,  Andrew Branscum, and Peace Nakayima several years prior to this.  They discussed their tests concerning the suitability of sliced apples and oranges in Appetite.   They found that orange consumption increased when sliced oranges were proffered, but increased apple consumption only occurred among the younger school children.

I am guessing from the results I found with my kids and their friends, slicing the apples really does help keep the doctor away.  Because it was the only way they’d finish their apples.

Which, by the way, is what McDonald’s found.   Sliced apples became the norm for “Happy Meals” some four years ago.   And, now, McDonalds supplies some 250 million packages a year with their kids’ meals.

By the way- that’s 10% of all the fresh sliced apples sold in the US!

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9 thoughts on “An Apple a Day”

    1. Thanks for the visit and comment, Adrian. (By the way, I fixed your typo. I know that my rules that preclude folks from copying and pasting my outstanding verbiage 🙂 means those who make comments are stuck with any inadvertant mistakes then make.)
      I shall have to check out his books. I generally read technical journals and not books, but your excitement has enticed me.

  1. It’s a fascinating thing when something so simple….so here’s a story from the workplace. People are complaining about “crunchy snacks” in cube farms. Having sliced apples would reduce that crunch from the bites into the apple. So, there’s even a workplace application. Who would have thought?

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