This study was conducted in order to investigate the association between picky eating behaviors of preschool children and growth outcomes. In this study, picky eating behaviors were defined as containing four constructs of 'eating a small amount (ES),' 'neophoic behavior (NB),' 'refusal of specific food groups (RF),' and 'preference for specific foodpreparation methods (PP).' A 7-point scale was used for the multi-item questionnaire, which consisted of 21 items (three items for ES, two items for NB, nine items for RF, and seven items for PP), in order to evaluate picky eating behaviors of children. Subjects were recruited among visitors at a medical clinic in Seoul. A total of 150 self-administered survey responses from parents of preschool children were analyzed in order to investigate the association between picky eating behaviors of preschool children and growth outcomes. Height for age (HFA) and weight for height (WFH) z-scores were used for assessment of preschool children's growth. The prevalence of ES, NB, RF, and PP was 44%, 57%, 73%, and 53%, respectively. Children with ES had lower HFA (p ＜ 0.05) and WFH (p ＜ 0.0001) than those without ES, while children with NB, RF, or PP had HFA and WFH were similar to their counterparts. The mean HFA z-score of children with ES was less than 0 (p ＜ 0.05) and the mean WFH z-scores of children with ES, NB, RF, or PP were less than 0 (p ＜ 0.05). According to the study results, related growth outcome differed depending on constructs of picky eating behaviors. In particular, picky eating of ES showed a risk of faltering height growth in preschool children. • In general, at the end of the meal how often has your child eaten the amount you think he/she should eat?3)• How often do you attempt to persuade your child to eat a food?• Does your child have a good appetite?3)
Limited varietyNeophobic behavior 2)• How willing is your child to enjoy new and unfamiliar food when offered?3)• How often does your child try new and unfamiliar foods at home?3)Refusal of specific food groups • How often does your child refuse following foods?-Meats, fishes, shrimp, shells, vegetables, mushrooms, seaweeds, fruits, milkPreference for specific foodpreparation method• Does your child eat any of following foods only if prepared a specific way?-Meats, fishes, shrimp, shells, vegetables, mushrooms, seaweeds 1) Cronbach's coefficient α is 0.88 2) Cronbach's coefficient α is 0.79 3) Negatively worded questions were reverse scored
