Children's Food Preferences: A Longitudinal Analysis

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Abstract

Objective To compare children's food preferences longitudinally and identify factors related to food preferences.

Design Mothers completed the Food Preference Questionnaire for children at 2 to 3 years of age (T1), 4 years (T2), and 8 years (T3) and for themselves at T1 and T3 Both groups completed a Food Neophobia Scale at T3.

Subjects 70 child/mother pairs who had participated continuously in the longitudinal study.

Statistical analyses performed Changes in food preferences over time were tested with paired t tests and correlations. Consistency percentages were calculated by summing the consistent matches (like/like) for each food between two time periods. Similarly, concordance percentages were calculated for child/mother pairs by summing the concordant matches for each food. General linear models were developed to identify influences on children's food preferences.

Results Although children liked most foods, the number of liked foods did not change significantly during the 5 to 5.7 years of the study. The strongest predictors of the number of foods liked at age 8 years (R2=0.74) were the number liked at 4 years (P<.0001) and the food neophobia score (P=.0003). Newly tasted foods were more likely to be accepted between T1 and T2 than T2 and T3 Mothers’ and children's food preferences were significantly but moderately related. Foods disliked by mothers tended not to be offered to children.

Applications/Conclusions The important role of children's early food preferences is confirmed by this study. Mothers influence children via their own preferences, which may limit foods offered to children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102: 1638-1647.

Section snippets

Sample

Child/mother pairs (n=70) were participants in a longitudinal study of children from age 2 months to 8 years (96 months). As described elsewhere (18), (36), children were recruited from birth records and personal referrals; all children were white and healthy at birth; parents were well educated and were primarily middle- or upper-socioeconomic status. Retention of subjects in the study was good (37); only 2 subjects were lost to follow-up in the last 3-year period (children ages 6 to 8 years);

Food Preference Questionnaires

Correlations between children's responses on the 90-item Abbreviated Food Preference Questionnaire and mothers’ reports of children's preferences on the same 90 items (selected from the Food Preference Questionnaire) were highly significant (P≤.0001). Thus, we considered mothers’ reports an accurate measure of children's food preferences and used the 196-item Food Preference Questionnaire for all further analyses.

Although mothers reported that as a group children liked more than 60% of the 196

Discussion

This study is unique because it describes young children's food preferences longitudinally over more than 5 years, rather than at a single point in time (8), (22), (28), (29), (30), (32), (33), as in cross sectional studies. Other than exposure studies that lasted a few weeks (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), the only other longitudinal study related to food preferences was our study on the characteristics of “picky eaters” in this same sample of children (26). The current study also is unique

Applications

■ Health professionals can help mothers realize the impact of children's early food preferences on their food preferences in the elementary school years. Because mothers face many child-feeding challenges during these early years (eg, decreased growth rate/decreased appetite, the “terrible twos” when children seek increased independence and autonomy, transient “picky eating” behaviors, limited tooth development), health professionals must provide mothers with effective strategies for coping

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