Want to encourage your child eat more fruits? A recent study on ScienceDaily.com recommends slicing them first instead of serving them whole, as sliced fruits are apparently more appealing to kids.

A team from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab conducted a trial in eight elementary schools, where a fruit slicer was provided to each cafeteria. The researchers also conducted interviews with students about their eating habits.

Results showed that many children didn't eat fruits for two reasons: complications due to wearing braces or missing teeth, or the belief that it isn't cool or attractive to eat whole fruits in front of others. All seemed to be more agreeable to eating sliced fruits as shown by the 61 percent increase in fruit sales of the eight school cafeterias.

Another study was conducted in six middle schools; half of the campuses were given slicers, while the other half served as a control group. The results showed those who had slicers showed a 71 percent increase in fruit sales as compared with those that didn't. Researchers also found that the percentage of students who consumed more than half of their fruits rose by 73 percent.

In your own way, you can also get your kid to eat healthier. Instead of placing an entire apple in your kid's baon, try cutting it up for him to be able to chew it better. You can also take it a notch higher by creating fruit mixes in attractive colors, which can make them more fun to eat. Finding ways of presenting healthy food to your child will help him enjoy the kind of diet that's good for him.

(Photo by Kirti Poddar via Flickr Creative Commons)