Description

The WillTry Scale (WTS-22) is an assessment instrument designed to measure the willingness of children aged 5 to 14 years to try fruits and vegetables, including both familiar and less familiar foods. The scale was developed within the broader context of childhood obesity prevention and the promotion of healthier eating behaviors.

Children’s fruit and vegetable consumption may be influenced by several factors, including socioeconomic status, food preferences, parental consumption patterns, nutrition knowledge, self-esteem, and shared family meals.

Aim

The primary aim of the WTS-22 is to assess children’s willingness to try different fruits and vegetables. The resulting information can be used to support the development of interventions aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable intake or improving dietary behaviors within weight-management programs.

Analysis and Use of Data

The scale consists of 22 questions and is administered through an interview. For each fruit or vegetable, the child indicates whether they would try it, might try it, or would not try it.

A total score can be calculated, along with separate scores reflecting willingness to try fruits and vegetables. The instrument may be used both for initial assessment and for evaluating changes following nutrition or health-promotion interventions.

Development and Psychometric Properties

The WillTry instrument was developed progressively through telephone interviews with parents and pilot studies conducted in three small rural communities in the Delta region. During development, it became apparent that many children had limited exposure even to relatively common fruits and vegetables.

The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated by Thomson and colleagues in 2010. The authors of the instrument were Thomson, McCabe-Sellers, Strickland, Lovera, Nuss, Yadrick, Duke, and Bogle.

As part of the predictive validity evaluation, a snack-feeding procedure was used that included 18 foods—13 fruits and 5 vegetables—offered over a six-week period.

Scoring

Scoring is based on the child’s three possible responses for each food item: “would try,” “might try,” and “would not try.” Individual responses are combined to derive an overall score, as well as separate fruit and vegetable willingness scores.

Higher scores generally indicate greater willingness to try a variety of fruits and vegetables, according to the scoring procedure used in the specific version of the scale.

References

Thomson, J. L., McCabe-Sellers, B. J., Strickland, E., Lovera, D., Nuss, H. J., Yadrick, K., Duke, S., & Bogle, M. L. (2010). Development and evaluation of WillTry: An instrument for measuring children’s willingness to try fruits and vegetables. Appetite, 54, 465–472.

Tussing-Humphreys, L., Thomson, J., McCabe-Sellers, B., Strickland, E., Lovera, D., & Bogle, M. (2012). A school-based fruit and vegetable snacking pilot intervention for Lower Mississippi Delta children. Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition.