Fairy tales help children eat more fruit and vegetables

German psychologist Werner Sommer and colleagues found that storytelling can encourage children to choose healthier food. In an experiment with 80 preschoolers, one group heard a fairy tale about magic vegetables restoring a sick painter's strength, while another heard a non-food-related story. Those who heard the food story significantly increased their fruit and vegetable intake, with 90% choosing healthy snacks in the first week, demonstrating storytelling's potential to combat childhood obesity.