Beyond household meals: a game-based approach to unveiling the role of insects in Malagasy children's diets.

backgroundInsects have long been an integral part of Malagasy cuisine; however, their role in children's lives outside traditional household contexts remains overlooked. This study examined the non-familial collection and consumption of edible insects among Malagasy children aged 6 to 15 years in rural communities of the Analamanga region in central Madagascar.

methodsUsing two different assessment methods, direct questioning with adults and a game-based approach with children, we investigated children's activities with edible insects during play. The findings revealed important differences between the two methods. Ethical compliance was confirmed by the institutional committee, which reviewed and approved the study design prior to data collection.

resultsAdults identified eight insect species consumed by children while playing, whereas children themselves reported consuming eleven species, suggesting that direct questioning may overlook certain aspects of children's diets. The game-based approach proved to be a more effective tool in revealing hidden consumption patterns, as it allowed children to naturally show their interactions with insects. Overall, 35% of children's games involved insects, with 71% of these games leading to consumption. On average, children consumed insects while playing three times a week, in addition to any insect intake during household meals, indicating a separate pathway of entomophagy. The most commonly consumed species include beetles such as Voangory (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) and Voanosy (Curculionidae: Polycleis Marshall, 1916), which are often collected during the rainy season, a period of food scarcity.

conclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of alternative, child-centered methods for studying food consumption practices. Game-based observation can reveal informal eating practices that are invisible to adult-reported surveys. These results confirm the nutritional and cultural significance of edible insects in Madagascar, highlight the surprisingly frequent consumption of insects outside formal meal contexts by children, and reveal overlooked pathways relevant to food security.