Parental feeding practices and parental involvement in child feeding in Denmark: Gender differences and predictors.

Studies about fathers and feeding are scarce and little is known about predictors of parental involvement in child feeding and of paternal feeding practices. Therefore, this study aimed to examine possible differences between Danish mothers and fathers with regard to their feeding practices and involvement in feeding related tasks, and to assess possible parent-related predictors of parental practices and involvement. A total of 261 mothers and 321 fathers of pre-schoolers completed an online survey with items from validated questionnaires. Gender differences were observed; fathers reported using higher levels of coercive control practices, while mothers reported using higher levels of structure practices and autonomy support practices. Both mothers and fathers reported to be highly involved in feeding their child. Regressions showed that a higher concern for child weight and a higher motivation for child preference when buying food were linked to a higher use of coercive control practices while a higher motivation for health control when buying food, cooking confidence, feeding/general self-efficacy and perceived responsibility for feeding were linked to a higher use of structure and autonomy support practices. The results of this study provide valuable insight into maternal and paternal practices in Denmark and their determinants.

Young Children's Eating in the Absence of Hunger: Links With Child Inhibitory Control, Child BMI, and Maternal Controlling Feeding Practices.

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the associations between young children's eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), inhibitory control, body mass index (BMI) and several maternal controlling feeding practices (food as reward, restriction for health, restriction for weight control). In addition, to more properly assess the relationship between children's and maternal variables, the link between EAH and restriction was explored separately in two directionalities: "child to parent" or "parent to child." To do this, mothers of 621 children aged 2.00-6.97years (51% boys, M=4.11years, SD=1.34) filled in a questionnaire with items from validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed, whatever the directionality considered, a positive association between children's eating in the absence of hunger and their BMI z-scores. Restriction for health and restriction for weight control were differently linked to EAH and to children's BMI z-scores. Namely, low child inhibitory control, food as reward and restriction for health were identified as risk factors for EAH. Restriction for weight control was not linked to EAH, but was predicted by child BMI z-scores. Interventions aiming to improve children's abilities to self-regulate food intake could consider training children's general self-regulation, their self-regulation of intake, and/or promoting adaptive parental feeding practices.

How Do French Parents Determine Portion Sizes for Their Pre-Schooler? A Qualitative Exploration of the Parent-Child Division of Responsibility and Influencing Factors.

Large portion sizes can make children overeat, alter their self-regulation abilities and induce weight gain. However, little is known about how parents determine portion sizes for their children. Using semi-structured interviews with 5 fathers and 32 mothers of pre-schoolers, this study examined French parents' food portioning practices. The division of responsibility between parent and child in deciding portion sizes was explored, as well as the influencing factors and possible sources of information. Parents described a wide range of practices. For most, determining portion sizes is an intuitive action that depends on habits and mainly arises from experiences with feeding their child and his/her appetitive traits. Few parents grant autonomy to their child for portioning and serving food, especially for the first serving. Many influencing factors were identified, including child-related (e.g., appetite, food preferences), parent-related (e.g., avoiding food waste), and external factors (e.g., influence of siblings, French food culture). Most parents do not search for information/recommendations to guide their practices. Stimulating optimal self-regulation of eating in children is important and parents can play a crucial role in this. This study identified barriers and facilitators to guide parents in providing appropriate portion sizes and help include children in this decision process.

Are food parenting practices gendered? Impact of mothers' and fathers' practices on their child's eating behaviors.

Past research has mainly focused on the links between child eating behaviors and maternal food practices. The impact of fathers and of concordant/discordant food parenting practices within families has received much less attention. To fill this gap, both parents of 105 French children aged 2.01-6.51 years (54 boys, Mage = 3.88 years, SD = 1.40) filled in a survey with items from validated questionnaires. Results showed that fathers and mothers perceived their child's eating behaviors in similar ways (Pearson correlations between 0.34 and 0.78; M = 0.60), despite mothers taking significantly more meals with their child than fathers. Fathers reported using significantly more pressure to eat and food as reward, but reported lower levels of "family meal setting" than mothers. Moderate to high correlations were observed between mothers' and fathers' feeding practices and styles. Regression analyses showed that both maternal and paternal practices and styles were predictors for child eating behaviors. One interaction effect was observed: in households where both parents used higher levels of pressure to eat, the child showed a significantly lower food enjoyment than expected if the effects were additive. Our findings underline the importance of studying the individual role of each parent in child feeding research and that both parents within families should avoid using coercive practices. This could finally stimulate new interventions and recommendations addressed to both parents.

Food perception, lifestyle, nutritional and health status in the older people: Typologies and factors associated with aging well.

The aging process is associated with physiological, sensory, psychological, and sociological changes likely to have an impact on food intake and the nutritional status. The present study aimed to explore the heterogeneity of the French older population (>65 years old) using a multidisciplinary approach. More specifically, the study aimed to highlight different typologies (i.e. clusters of individuals with similar characteristics) within the older population. We conducted face-to-face interviews and tests with 559 French older people, recruited from different categories of dependency (at home without help, at home with help, in nursing homes). Clustering analysis highlighted seven clusters. Clusters 1-3 contained 'young' older people (<80) with a good nutritional status; these clusters differed according to food preferences, the desire to have a healthy diet, or interest in food. Clusters 4-7 mainly contained 'old' older people (80+), with an increase in the nutritional risk from cluster 4 to cluster 7. Two of these clusters grouped healthy and active people with a good level of appetite, while the two other clusters were associated with a clear decline in nutritional status, with people suffering from eating difficulties or depression. The results raise the need to develop targeted interventions to tackle malnutrition and implement health promotion strategies among the seniors.

11 and 15-month-old infants do not compensate immediately for energy variation, and no further adjustment occurs 12 or 24 hours later.

Previously, we demonstrated that, in the short term, infants undercompensated for the energy from a preload given 25 min before an ad libitum meal. However, although not consistent, there is evidence in young children that caloric adjustment may occur over longer periods. We investigated the extent to which further energy adjustment occurs up to 24 h after a single meal preceded by preloads of varying energy density (ED) in infants that are 11 and 15 months old. Short-term caloric adjustment was measured in 11- and 15-month-old infants through a preload paradigm meal in the laboratory. To assess their caloric adjustment over longer periods (12 and 24 h), we used 24 h dietary records to evaluate the energy intake (EI) after each visit to the laboratory. Three COMPX scores were calculated according to three different time periods after preload consumption (0 h [i.e., short-term], 12 h or 24 h). Our main result was that, on average, regardless of the time period considered, the infants undercompensated their EI after preload consumption: at 11 and 15 months, caloric adjustment was partial and similar overtime. Considering that a slight repeated imbalance of the energy balance may promote rapid weight gain over the first months, this study calls for further research focusing on facilitators and barriers of efficient appetite control abilities in infancy.

Child eating behaviors, parental feeding practices and food shopping motivations during the COVID-19 lockdown in France: (How) did they change?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused France to impose a strict lockdown, affecting families' habits in many domains. This study evaluated possible changes in child eating behaviors, parental feeding practices, and parental motivations when buying food during the lockdown, compared to the period before the lockdown. Parents of 498 children aged 3-12 years (238 boys; M = 7.32; SD = 2.27) completed an online survey with items from validated questionnaires (e.g., CEDQ, CEBQ, HomeSTEAD). They reported on their (child's) current situation during the lockdown, and retrospectively on the period before the lockdown. Many parents reported changes in child eating behaviors, feeding practices, and food shopping motivations. When changes occurred, child appetite, food enjoyment, food responsiveness and emotional overeating significantly increased during the lockdown. Increased child boredom significantly predicted increased food responsiveness, emotional overeating and snack frequency in between meals. When parents changed their practices, they generally became more permissive: less rules, more soothing with food, more child autonomy. They bought pleasurable and sustainable foods more frequently, prepared more home-cooked meals and cooked more with the child. Level of education and increased stress level predicted changes in parental practices and motivations. This study provides insights in factors that can induce positive and negative changes in families' eating, feeding and cooking behaviors. This can stimulate future studies and interventions.

Optimizing sensory quality and variety: An effective strategy for increasing meal enjoyment and food intake in older nursing home residents.

A decline in appetite and consequently in food intake is often observed with ageing, particularly in older adults living in nursing homes. Several strategies have been tested in nursing homes to counter this phenomenon. However, the approaches have rarely focused on food improvement, and most studies have assessed the impact of flavor enhancement on eating behavior. The present experiment aimed to assess the impact of improving sensory quality versus increasing sensory variety on food intake and meal enjoyment in elderly individuals living in a nursing home. Four conditions were compared: control condition, a Quality+ condition (recipes were improved according to sensory preference of the target population), a Variety+ condition (participants were offered a variety of main dishes and several condiments throughout the meal) and a Quality&Variety+ condition combining the two previous conditions. Eighty-two residents (age range: 71-101 years) participated in eight lunchtime sessions (2 replicates × 4 conditions). Compared to control condition, our results showed that improving the sensory quality of the dishes and/or providing variety led to increased meal enjoyment and food intake (energy intake: +5% for Quality+; +7% for Variety+). No additional effect was observed when the two factors were combined (+7% for Quality&Variety+). These results suggest that meal improvement strategies can be used to increase food intake in order to prevent and treat malnutrition in dependent older adults.

Impact of a front-of-pack nutritional traffic-light label on the nutritional quality and the hedonic value of mid-afternoon snacks chosen by mother-child dyads.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a nutritional traffic-light label, the Nutri-Score, on snack choices in mother-child dyads and to assess a potential hedonic cost associated with a change in favour of healthier choices. French mothers and children (n = 95; children's age: 7-11 years) who participated were asked to choose, for themselves and for the other dyad member, a snack composed of one beverage and two food items selected among several products with different nutritional quality. In the first step, the products were presented without any information. In the second step, the products were labelled with the Nutri-Score. Mothers and children were asked to rate their liking for all proposed products before being informed of their nutritional quality. The nutritional quality, the hedonic score, and the estimated budget of the selected snacks were compared before and after labelling. As hypothesized, the Nutri-Score label led to a significant increase in the nutritional quality of the chosen snacks. The budget for the chosen snacks was unchanged or decreased after the nutritional labelling was applied. Children and mothers had significantly lower liking for the snacks after nutritional labelling than before nutritional labelling, suggesting a hedonic cost associated with a change in favour of healthier snack choices. This raises the question of the sustainability of the behavioural change induced by the Nutri-Score label.

Caloric compensation ability around the age of 1 year: Interplay with the caregiver-infant mealtime interaction and infant appetitive traits.

Previously, we demonstrated that infants' caloric compensation ability decreases between 11 and 15 months old. Here, we explored whether the inter-individual variation in infants' caloric compensation ability is associated with caregiver-infant interaction during laboratory test meals or with infant appetitive traits. To describe caregiver-infant interaction, we recorded feeding in laboratory ad libitum meals when the infants were 11 and 15 months old by using a connected weighing scale. We extracted the weight of each offered spoonful and the time interval between two spoonfuls. The caloric compensation score (COMPX) was assessed during the same meals. At 11 and 15 months old, the caregiver rated their infant's appetitive traits by completing the CEBQ-T. Student's t tests were applied to test the relationships between the variables describing the caregiver-infant interaction and the COMPX score. The relationships between the COMPX score or its change and the infants' appetitive traits were assessed with Kendall correlations. Regarding appetitive traits, the more the caloric compensation ability decreased between 11 and 15 months old, the more the infants were perceived as food responsive between these ages (τ = -0.36, p = 0.01, n = 28). At 11 months old, when the time interval between two spoonfuls was positively associated with the previous spoonful weight (i.e., a longer time interval after a larger spoonful weight), the infants exhibited a better caloric compensation ability (t = -2.1, p = 0.04, n = 38). Moreover, this study provides new evidence regarding the importance of a responsive feeding style by suggesting that adapting the feeding pace to the spoonful weight could be a favourable practice associated with better caloric compensation ability by the end of the first year. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered at clinicals.gov as NCT03409042 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03409042).

Caloric compensation in infants: developmental changes around the age of 1 year and associations with anthropometric measurements up to 2 years.

BACKGROUND: Previous results based on dietary recall suggest that the ability to adjust eaten quantities to food energy density (ED) may deteriorate around the age of 1 y. However, this hypothesis has not been investigated experimentally. OBJECTIVES: The first aim of the study was to describe changes in the short-term caloric compensation ability of infants around the age of 1 y. We expected a decrease in this ability with age. The second aim was to identify individual factors [e.g., breastfeeding duration, body mass index (BMI) z-score, and change in BMI z-score] related to interindividual variations in caloric compensation ability. METHODS: We adapted the preload paradigm to calculate a COMPX score. The measure was performed in the laboratory at 11 and 15 mo. The parent offered a food preload that was either low or high in ED (LED = 33 kcal/100 g or HED = 97.9 kcal/100 g, respectively), followed by an ad libitum meal after 25 min. The infants were measured and weighed. Information about the infants' milk-feeding history was collected. RESULTS: We obtained COMPX scores at 11 and 15 mo for 31 infants (12 females). As hypothesized, the caloric compensation ability significantly decreased with age (COMPX11 = 52% ± 133%; COMPX15 = -14% ± 151%; P = 0.03). The more the COMPX score decreased, the more the BMI z-score between 11 and 15 mo increased (P = 0.03) and the higher the BMI z-score was at 2 y (P = 0.03). No associations were found between COMPX scores and breastfeeding duration (all P > 0.60). CONCLUSIONS: Caloric compensation ability decreases between 11 and 15 mo. This decrease is associated with a larger increase in weight status from 11 to 15 mo and a higher weight status at 2 y. This study calls for further research to better understand the early determinants of caloric compensation ability. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03409042 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03409042).

Weanling Infants Prefer the Odors of Green Vegetables, Cheese, and Fish When Their Mothers Consumed These Foods During Pregnancy and/or Lactation.

Infants' olfactory experience begins before birth and extends after birth through milk and complementary foods. Until now, studies on the effects of chemosensory experience in utero and/or through human milk focused on experimentally controlled exposure to only 1 target food bearing a specific odor quality and administered in sizeable amounts. This study aimed to assess whether early olfactory experience effect was measurable in "everyday conditions" of maternal food intake during pregnancy and lactation, and of infant intake at weaning, leading to expose the infant to corresponding odors as fetus, neonate, and infant up to 8 and 12 months of age. Infants' early food exposures were assessed by asking mothers to fill out diaries about their food consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and about their infant's consumption during complementary feeding. To test odor liking, odorants representing a priori pleasant and unpleasant food odors, as well as odorless stimuli, were presented. The infant's exploratory behavior toward odorized bottles and nonodorized control bottles was measured in terms of mouthing duration, which is thought to reflect attraction and/or appetence. At age 8 months only, positive correlations were found between liking of some unpleasant odors and early exposure to these odors through mother's diet. No correlations were found between infants' liking of the pleasant odors and early exposures to the foods bearing these odors. This study highlights that early exposure to unpleasant food odors may increase subsequent liking (or reduce subsequent dislike) of these food odors at least until the age of 8 months.

Early Development of Taste and Flavor Preferences and Consequences on Eating Behavior.

The first 1,000 days of life constitute an important period for the development of health and eating behavior. While the feeding mode drastically evolves, the child learns "how", "what," and "how much" food to eat. When orally exposed, infants discover food properties, with a variety of tastes, flavors, textures, as well as energy densities. Here, we focus on deciphering the involvement of taste and olfaction in the early establishment of eating behavior. In the OPALINE French birth cohort (Observatory of Food Preferences in Infants and Children), taste and flavor preferences were studied in relation to food preferences over the first 2 years. Both taste and flavor preferences evolved during this period. At weaning, a higher preference for sweet, sour, and umami tastes was associated with a higher acceptance of sweet-, sour- and umami-tasting foods, respectively. At 12 months, rejection of the odor of trimethylamine and dimethyl disulfide was related to the rejection of fish and sulfurous cheeses, respectively. Further, at 20 months, food neophobia was associated with odor but not taste differential reactivity, revealing the importance of olfaction in neophobic reactions. Further studies are ongoing to examine the long-term effect of early taste and flavor exposure on food preferences.

Development of a new questionnaire to assess the links between children's self-regulation of eating and related parental feeding practices.

Young children have an innate ability to self-regulate food intake, driven primarily by hunger and satiety cues, but this ability tends to decrease during early childhood. The study aimed to first examine the development and initial validation of a self-report questionnaire suitable for French samples that assess two dimensions of children's self-regulation of eating (eating in the absence of hunger, poor eating compensation abilities) and potential related parental feeding practices. The second aim was to assess the links between children's self-regulation of eating and parental feeding practices as well as the links between children's self-regulation and children's body mass index. An initial 28-item questionnaire was developed. It included items related to the child's eating in the absence of hunger and eating compensation, which were selected mainly from interviews conducted with 45 mothers, and items related to parental feeding practices selected from existing tools. This questionnaire was then completed by 793 parents. A 21-item questionnaire was validated using a confirmatory factor analysis that showed satisfying fit indices. The structural equation modeling indicated that the use of food as reward was positively associated with eating in the absence of hunger, whereas parental awareness of children's cues was negatively associated with both children's eating in the absence of hunger and poor eating compensation ability. Interestingly, positive associations between eating in the absence of hunger and child's BMI, and between poor eating compensation ability and child's BMI were reported. The current study offered an initial validation of a new questionnaire that combines parental feeding practices and constructs involved in children's self-regulation of eating. Further studies are needed to disentangle these links and their directionality as well as the associations with children's body mass index.

Dietary Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Analysis and Taxonomy.

Background: Dietary behavior encompasses many aspects, terms for which are used inconsistently across different disciplines and research traditions. This hampers communication and comparison across disciplines and impedes the development of a cumulative science. We describe the conceptual analysis of the fuzzy umbrella concept "dietary behavior" and present the development of an interdisciplinary taxonomy of dietary behavior. Methods: A four-phase multi-method approach was employed. Input was provided by 76 scholars involved in an international research project focusing on the determinants of dietary behavior. Input was collected from the scholars via an online mind mapping procedure. After structuring, condensing, and categorizing this input into a compact taxonomy, the result was presented to all scholars, discussed extensively, and adapted. A second revision round was then conducted among a core working group. Results: A total of 145 distinct entries were made in the original mind mapping procedure. The subsequent steps allowed us to reduce and condense the taxonomy into a final product consisting of 34 terms organized into three main categories: Food Choice, Eating Behavior, and Dietary Intake/Nutrition. In a live discussion session attended by 50 of the scholars involved in the development of the taxonomy, it was judged to adequately reflect their input and to be a valid and useful starting point for interdisciplinary understanding and collaboration. Conclusion: The current taxonomy can be used as a tool to facilitate understanding and cooperation between different disciplines investigating dietary behavior, which may contribute to a more successful approach to tackling the complex public health challenges faced by the field. The taxonomy need not be viewed as a final product, but can continue to grow in depth and width as additional experts provide their input.

Infant Acceptance of Primary Tastes and Fat Emulsion: Developmental Changes and Links with Maternal and Infant Characteristics.

Previous studies on taste acceptance have been conducted taste-by-taste and with a cross-sectional design. The aim of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the acceptance of sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami solutions, and a fat emulsion comparatively in a birth cohort from 3 to 20 months old. The acceptance of each taste relative to water was defined using proportional variables that are based on ingestion (IR) or liking evaluated by the experimenter (LR). These data were analyzed with mixed models that accounted for age and subject effects (minimum 152 observations/age/taste; maximum 216). For saltiness, acceptance increased sharply between 3 and 12 months old. The trajectories of acceptance were parallel for sweetness, sourness, and the umami tastes between 3 and 20 months old, with sweetness being preferred. Between 12 and 20 months old, the acceptance of all tastes, except bitterness, decreased, and at 20 months old, only sweetness was not rejected. The acceptance of bitterness remained stable. For the fat emulsion, acceptance evolved from indifference to rejection. The acceptance of saltiness and umami tastes were lower in girls than boys at 20 months old. The acceptance of the fat emulsion was higher in infants who were born heavier and taller. At 20 months old, the fat emulsion acceptance was higher in infants who were born from mothers with a higher prepregnancy body mass index. Finally, the taste differential reactivity (the standard deviation of the IRs) significantly increased from 3 to 20 months old.

Determining Factors and Critical Periods in the Formation of Eating Habits: Results from the Habeat Project.

BACKGROUND: Eating habits form early during childhood and are likely to track until the beginning of adulthood. Thus, understanding the formation of eating habits is important. Consequently, the population targeted in the European project Habeat comprised infants and young children up to 6 years of age. SUMMARY: Habeat mainly focused on the qualitative dimension of eating habits with a particular attention on vegetables and to a lesser extent on fruit. Food intake of young children was also studied in 2 challenging situations where overeating may occur and the relation between children's behaviour and feeding parental practices was examined. Key Messages: Habeat found evidence that breastfeeding may facilitate the consumption of vegetables and fruit and a greater variety of healthy foods in later childhood. Introduction of a variety of vegetables at the beginning of the complementary feeding period increases later acceptance of novel foods. Repeated exposure is a powerful mechanism to increase children's intake of a novel vegetable in infants and young children. Offering energy-dense snacks before or after meals should be avoided. Moreover, food should be offered to children in response to their feelings of hunger, and not used as reward for a good behaviour or for any other reason.

The Lasting Influences of Early Food-Related Variety Experience: A Longitudinal Study of Vegetable Acceptance from 5 Months to 6 Years in Two Populations.

Children's vegetable consumption falls below current recommendations, highlighting the need to identify strategies that can successfully promote better acceptance of vegetables. Recently, experimental studies have reported promising interventions that increase acceptance of vegetables. The first, offering infants a high variety of vegetables at weaning, increased acceptance of new foods, including vegetables. The second, offering an initially disliked vegetable at 8 subsequent meals markedly increased acceptance for that vegetable. So far, these effects have been shown to persist for at least several weeks. We now present follow-up data at 15 months, 3 and 6 years obtained through questionnaire (15 mo, 3y) and experimental (6y) approaches. At 15 months, participants who had been breast-fed were reported as eating and liking more vegetables than those who had been formula-fed. The initially disliked vegetable that became accepted after repeated exposure was still liked and eaten by 79% of the children. At 3 years, the initially disliked vegetable was still liked and eaten by 73% of the children. At 6 years, observations in an experimental setting showed that children who had been breast-fed and children who had experienced high vegetable variety at the start of weaning ate more of new vegetables and liked them more. They were also more willing to taste vegetables than formula-fed children or the no or low variety groups. The initially disliked vegetable was still liked by 57% of children. This follow-up study suggests that experience with chemosensory variety in the context of breastfeeding or at the onset of complementary feeding can influence chemosensory preferences for vegetables into childhood.

Salivary Composition Is Associated with Liking and Usual Nutrient Intake.

Salivary flow and composition have an impact on flavor perception. However, very few studies have explored the relationship between saliva, individual liking and usual dietary intake. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of salivary flow and composition with both a liking for fat, saltiness and sweetness and the usual nutrient intake in an adult French population. Liking for fat, saltiness, and sweetness were inferred from liking scores obtained during hedonic tests on 32 food products among 282 French adults participating in the Nutrinet-Santé Study. Before assessing liking, resting saliva was collected. Standard biochemical analyses were performed to assess specific component concentrations and enzymatic activities. Dietary data were collected using three web-based 24 h records. Relationships between salivary flow and composition, sensory liking and nutrient intake were assessed using linear regression. Total antioxidant capacity was positively associated with simple carbohydrate intake (ß = 31.3, 95% CI = 1.58; 60.99) and inversely related to complex carbohydrate consumption (ß = -52.4, 95% CI = -87.51; -19.71). Amylolysis was positively associated with both total (ß = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.01; 0.38) and simple carbohydrate intake (ß = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.01; 0.39). Salivary flow was positively associated with liking for fat (ß = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.03; 0.25). Proteolysis was positively associated with liking for saltiness and for fat (ß = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.02; 0.59; ß = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.01; 0.56, respectively). Amylolysis was inversely associated with liking for sweetness (ß = -10.13, 95% CI = -19.51; -0.75). Carbonic anhydrase 6 was inversely associated with liking for saltiness (ß = -46.77, 95% CI = -86.24; -7.30). Saliva does not substantially vary according to a usual diet, except for carbohydrate intake, whereas the specific association between salivary flow/composition and sensory liking suggests the influence of saliva characteristics in food acceptance.

Smell differential reactivity, but not taste differential reactivity, is related to food neophobia in toddlers.

Previous research has identified relationships between chemosensory reactivity and food neophobia in children. However, most studies have investigated this relationship using declarative data and without separately analysing smell and taste reactivity. Our first objective was to assess the relationships between smell and taste differential reactivity in toddlers (i.e. reactivity towards several stimuli), using experimental behavioural measurements. The second objective was to determine the relationships between smell (or taste) differential reactivity and food neophobia in toddlers, with the hypothesis that the more responsive a toddler was across food odours or tastes, the more neophobic s/he would be. An additional objective was to determine whether the potential relationships between smell (or taste) differential reactivity and food neophobia differ according to gender. One hundred and twenty-three toddlers aged from 20 to 22 months from the Opaline birth cohort (Observatory of Food Preferences in Infants and Children) were involved. A questionnaire was used to assess child's food neophobia. Toddlers' differential reactivity for smell (and for taste) was defined as the variability of behavioural responses over 8 odorants, and over the five basic tastes. Smell and taste differential reactivities were not correlated. Food neophobia scores were modestly but significantly positively correlated with smell differential reactivity but not with taste differential reactivity. When gender was considered, smell reactivity and neophobia were correlated only among boys. This indicates the need to study smell and taste reactivity separately to determine their associations with eating behaviours. This suggests that the rejection of novel foods in neophobic boys could be partly due to food odour. This finding is new and clearly requires further investigation.