Factors associated with food neophobia in children: systematic review / Fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças: revisão sistemática

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the factors associated with food neophobia in children through a systematic review. Data sources: This research was based on the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The research was carried out in the PubMed, Science Direct, and Scientific Electronic Library Online databases, with the combination of health descriptors in English and Portuguese: ("Food Neophobia" OR "Feeding Behavior" OR "Food Preferences" OR "Food Selectivity") AND Child, from 2000 to 2019. Studies that evaluated factors associated with food neophobia in children were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project: Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQS). Data synthesis: 19 studies were included in the systematic review. The prevalence of food neophobia ranged from 12.8 to 100%. The studies used three different scales to measure the level of food neophobia. The main factors associated with food neophobia were: parental influence on children's eating habits, children's innate preference for sweet and savory flavors, influence of the sensory aspect of the food, parents' pressure for the child to eat, parents' lack of encouragement and/or affection at mealtime, childhood anxiety, and diets with low variety and low nutritional quality. Conclusions: The factors associated with food neophobia permeate several areas of the child's life, thus, interprofessional follow-up becomes essential in the intervention process.

RESUMO Objetivo: Identificar os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças por meio de uma revisão sistemática. Fontes de dados: Esta pesquisa foi baseada nas recomendações do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. A busca foi realizada nas bases de dados PubMed, ScienceDirect e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), com a conjugação dos descritores em saúde em português e inglês: ("Food Neophobia" OR "Feeding Behavior" OR "Food Preferences" OR "Food Selectivity") AND Child, no período de 2000 a 2019. Foram incluídos os estudos que avaliaram os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças. A qualidade dos estudos foi mensurada por meio da ferramenta Effective Public Health Practice Project: Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQS). Síntese dos dados: Dezenove trabalhos foram incluídos na revisão sistemática. A prevalência da neofobia alimentar variou de 12,8 a 100%. Os estudos utilizaram três diferentes escalas a fim de medir o nível de neofobia alimentar. Os principais fatores associados a esse quadro foram: influência parental nos hábitos alimentares da criança, preferência inata das crianças por sabores doces e salgados, influência do aspecto sensorial do alimento, pressão dos pais para a criança comer, falta de encorajamento e/ou afetividade dos pais no momento das refeições, ansiedade na infância, dietas pouco variadas e com baixa qualidade nutricional. Conclusões: Os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar permeiam diversos âmbitos da vida da criança, assim, o acompanhamento interprofissional torna-se essencial no processo de intervenção.

Neofobia alimentaria y trastornos de conducta alimentaria: Impacto en la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea de universitarios españoles / Food neophobia and eating disorders: Impact on adherence to the Mediterranean diet of Spanish university students

RESUMEN Este estudio evaluó la actitud de los universitarios murcianos hacia los nuevos alimentos y su relación con la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea, el riesgo de alteraciones de la conducta alimentaria y su asociación con la masa corporal. Participaron estudiantes de la Universidad de Murcia a los cuales se realizaron mediciones antropométricas, peso y talla, para estimar el índice de masa corporal y se estableció su condición nutricional, y se aplicaron las encuestas para identificación de trastornos de conducta alimentaria y neofobia alimentaria. Participaron un total de 300 universitarios con un promedio de edad de 21.3 años. Sólo el 14% de las mujeres y 35% de los hombres presentaron exceso de peso. Un 44% presentan buena adherencia a la dieta mediterránea. La Neofobia fue ligeramente mayor en mujeres que en hombres. Entre los resultados se identificó que existen más conductas de trastornos de conducta alimentaria (15.5%) que neofobia (11.5%), impactando negativamente a la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea. Los universitarios de la Región de Murcia, presentan una puntuación en trastorno de la conducta alimentaria inferior a la reportada por otros autores, no existiendo diferencias significativas entre esta y el sexo, la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea o el IMC.

ABSTRACT The study was designed to evaluate the attitude of Spanish undergraduates towards new foods and its impact on adherence to the Mediterranean diet, risk of altered eating behavior and its association with body mass. Undergraduates of the University of Murcia were invited to participate. Anthropometry (weight and height) was measured to estimate body mass and nutritional status and surveys were administered to identify eating disorders and food neophobia. A total of 300 undergraduates participated, with a mean age of 21.3 years. Only 14% of the women and 35% of the men were overweight; 44% had good adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Neophobia is slightly higher in females than males. We observed more eating disorder behaviors (15.5%) compared to food neophobia (11.5%) and that both negatively impacted the adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Undergraduates from the Murcia Region, reported an eating disorder values lower than that reported by other authors. No significant differences were found between this and sex, adherence to the Mediterranean diet or BMI.

A Study on Personality Characteristics, Eating Habits and Food Neophobia of High School Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship among personality characteristics, eating habits and food neophobia of high school students. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 512 students who were in the first and second grade in four different high schools in Gyeong-gi-province. The questionnaire was designed to examine the personality characteristics, eating habits, and food neophobia. RESULTS: The personality characteristics of both boys and girls had intimacy, openness/intelligence, extroversion, sincerity, and emotional stability from highest to lowest. The girls (2.00) had better eating habits than the boys (1.90)(p < 0.05). To examine the level of food neophobia using the FNS (Food Neophobia Scale), girls tended to score higher in the FNS than boys (36.36 vs. 34.06). The relationship between the personal characteristics and eating habits showed a positive correlation (p < 0.01). The relationship between the personal characteristics and food neophoia revealed a negative correlation with all personal characteristics (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study confirmed the relationship among personal characteristics, eating habits, and food neophobia. This study is expected to provide ways to teach teenagers how to support their proper eating habits and personality characteristics.

A Study on Personality Characteristics, Eating Habits and Food Neophobia of High School Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship among personality characteristics, eating habits and food neophobia of high school students. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 512 students who were in the first and second grade in four different high schools in Gyeong-gi-province. The questionnaire was designed to examine the personality characteristics, eating habits, and food neophobia. RESULTS: The personality characteristics of both boys and girls had intimacy, openness/intelligence, extroversion, sincerity, and emotional stability from highest to lowest. The girls (2.00) had better eating habits than the boys (1.90)(p < 0.05). To examine the level of food neophobia using the FNS (Food Neophobia Scale), girls tended to score higher in the FNS than boys (36.36 vs. 34.06). The relationship between the personal characteristics and eating habits showed a positive correlation (p < 0.01). The relationship between the personal characteristics and food neophoia revealed a negative correlation with all personal characteristics (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study confirmed the relationship among personal characteristics, eating habits, and food neophobia. This study is expected to provide ways to teach teenagers how to support their proper eating habits and personality characteristics.

Effects of Eating Behavior of Preschool Children Using a Direct Visual Stimulating Program on Vegetables and Nutrition Education with Vegetable Playing

The purpose of this study was to examine 1) the relationship between the vegetable eating behavior of care givers and that of children, 2) the effectiveness of nutrition education with vegetable playing using direct visual stimulating programs on vegetable eating behavior of preschool children, and 3) the times and period of nutrition education with vegetable playing for significant changes on vegetable eating behavior. A total number of 56 individuals, aged 42 to 66 months old, participated in this study in which three kinds of vegetables (30 g)/meal were served per individual, and vegetable eating behavior was measured by the residue on the dish during 5 weeks (25 days). To the simple visual stimulating group, vegetable dish was served without education, and other groups included education 1 group (nutrition education 1 time/week), education 2 group (nutrition education 2 times/week), and education 3 group (nutrition education 3 times/week) with simple visual stimulation by the vegetable dish. The results showed 1) the significant relationship (P < 0.001) between the vegetable eating behavior of the care giver and that of children by analysis of the questionnaire, 2) the effectiveness of nutrition education using vegetable playing on vegetable eating behavior of preschool children (P < 0.05), and 3) the significant changes in vegetable eating behavior by the 3rd week in the education 3 group. This study shows that food neophobia caused behavior problems in children regarding vegetable eating and repeated exposure was able to reduce food neophobia.

Influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão da neofobia alimentar / Influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior

Resumo O estudo objetivou avaliar a influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão do comportamento alimentar neofóbico. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado com 247 universitários de ambos os sexos, com idade média de 24,6 ± 6,8 anos, matriculados no primeiro e no último ano de graduação em Nutrição e em outros cursos superiores da área de ciência da saúde. Foi avaliado o grau de neofobia alimentar através da Escala de Neofobia Alimentar associada a uma medida comportamental, obtida a partir da escolha entre alimentos conhecidos ou desconhecidos. De acordo com os resultados, os estudantes que estavam o início do curso de Nutrição apresentaram maiores escores de neofobia alimentar do que os do final do curso. No entanto, essa diferença não foi observada quando se comparou com os estudantes ingressantes e concluintes de outros cursos de graduação. Já na avaliação comportamental, foi visto que a maior parte dos estudantes concluintes do curso de Nutrição escolheu a preparação desconhecida, enquanto que nos demais grupos a maioria optou pela conhecida. Os resultados sugerem que a formação acadêmica em Nutrição pode ter influência sobre a expressão da neofobia alimentar.

Abstract This study sought to evaluate the influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior. It is a cross-sectional study conducted with 247 students, of both sexes and mean age of 24.6 ± 6.8 years, enrolled in the first and last year of the undergraduate course in nutrition and other higher education courses in the area of health science. The level of food neophobia was evaluated through the Food Neophobia Scale associated with a behavioral measure obtained from the choice between known or unknown food. In accordance with the results, the students who were embarking on the nutrition course had higher food neophobia scores than the students nearing the end of the course. However, this difference was not observed when compared with freshmen and seniors studying in other courses. In the behavioral assessment, it was seen that most of the seniors from the nutrition course chose the unknown preparation, while in the other groups the majority chose the known preparation. The results suggest that academic training in Nutrition may have an influence on the incidence of food neophobia.

Taste education reduces food neophobia and increases willingness to try novel foods in school children

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study measured the effects of a taste education program developed in Korea on food neophobia and willingness to try novel foods in school children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: One-hundred and twenty school children (aged 7-9 years) residing in Seoul participated in 12 sessions of a taste education program for 3 months. The Korean taste education program was adapted from "Les classes du goût" by J. Puisais and modified to suit a Korean education environment. The study subjected school children to pre- and post-programs on food neophobia and willingness to try novel foods (WTNF), in addition to children's food neophobia in their parents. A total of 101 survey data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: Regarding the effects of taste education, scores of food neophobia significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in the posttest, mean (m) score (4.10 ± 1.19) decreased compared to the pretest (4.39 ± 1.00), and WTNF significantly increased (P < 0.001) in the pretest (m) score (0.48 ± 0.33) compared to the pretest (0.32 ± 0.34). This result indicates verification of the study hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS: Food neophobia scale (FNS), an index that measures personal food preference [1,2], showed a very weak correlation with behavioral willingness to taste novel foods (WTNF). Therefore, it is expected that the two scales measure different things. However, considering that the traits of food neophobia are not easily changed, the taste education program was administered in a remarkably effective manner.

Relationships of adolescent's dietary habits with personality traits and food neophobia according to family meal frequency

BACKGROUND: A higher frequency of family meals is associated with good dietary habits in young people. This study focused on the relationships of family meal frequency with food neophobia and personality traits in adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHOD: For this purpose, we administered a survey to 495 middle school students in Seoul metropolitan city, after which the data were analyzed using the SPSS (18.0) program. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationships among dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia according to frequency of family meals. RESULTS: Dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia all showed significant differences according to the frequency of family meals. Further, eating regular family meals was associated with good dietary habits (P < 0.001) and was linked with improved extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness/intellect (P < 0.001). On the other hand, it showed a negative relationship with food neophobia (P < 0.001). The relationship between dietary habits and food neophobia showed a negative correlation (P < 0.01). The relationship between dietary habits and personality traits showed a positive correlation (P < 0.01). Lastly, the relationship between personality traits and food neophobia showed a negative correlation (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the study, the frequency of family meals affects dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia in adolescents.

Effects of sensory education based on classroom activities for lower grade school children

This study is to verify the effects of sensory education based on classroom activities for 2nd and 3rd grade children. The hypothesis is that children who participated in sensory education would demonstrate positive changes in eating behaviors through sensory experiences. The sensory education program consists of 12 lessons. Twenty-six children were being recruited from one school in Changwon, Korea. Two control groups, one of which was the same age as the educated group and the other group of sixth graders, were selected by random sampling from the same school. Children answered a self-administered questionnaire. The parents (n = 20) of the children who participated in the program, took part in evaluating the program through self-administered questionnaires after the program ended. The questionnaire contained variables of general characteristics, education satisfaction, nutrition knowledge, eating attitude and behavior concerning unfamiliar foods. The score of nutrition knowledge was improved in educated children (P < 0.05). Food neophobia score towards unfamiliar foods (P < 0.05) was increased in educated children, but there are no changes in eating behaviors in all groups towards unfamiliar foods. In conclusion, sensory education is useful for having a positive eating attitude among children. Its consistent implementation could lead to healthier and well-balanced eating behaviors for children.