Development and application of specific questions to classify a child as food texture sensitive

Abstract

Understanding food texture sensitivity in children is important in guiding food selection. The objective of this work was to develop a short questionnaire that could be completed by parents in nonclinical settings to provide a categorization for food texture sensitivity in children. This study evaluated the distribution of children as texture sensitive (TS) or non‐texture sensitive (NTS) and the predictive validity of these questions to explain rejection of specific food textures. Three sets of survey data were examined, including data from a home‐use test (HUT) in children with and without Down syndrome (DS), and lingual tactile sensitivity measured by grating orientation task (GOT). From three parent‐completed surveys, the use of the questionnaire yielded a similar distribution of children in the TS category (16–22%) as previously reported. TS children (4–36 months) were more likely to reject specific food textures, including chewy, hard, lumpy, and “tough meat” (p < .05). A higher percentage of children with a diagnosis of DS were TS (36.9%). Children who were TS showed increased negative behaviors to foods and ate less than NTS children. In older children (5–12 years), TS children were fussier than NTS children (p < .001). Lingual tactile sensitivity was not significantly different by TS/NTS categorization (p = .458). This study demonstrated that the use of these five questions specific to food texture provides a useful tool in categorizing a child as TS/NTS, with this information being useful in selecting preferred food textures. Future studies involving these TS questions should perform psychometric assessments and measures of criterion validity using other questionnaires.

Eating behaviors in children with Down syndrome: Results of a home‐use test

“… b Texture sensitivity (TS) categorization was made based on the response of the parent to the five questions (Ross et al, 2021). Child was categorized as either Texture Sensitive (TS) or Non‐Texture Sensitive (NTS). …”

“… a Child was categorized as either Texture Sensitive (TS) or Non‐Texture Sensitive (NTS) (Ross et al, 2021). …”

“…Children were further characterized by TS (Table 1). TS categorization was determined using the five questions described in a previous publication (Ross et al, 2021).…”

“…To categorize TS, the present study used a short questionnaire described by Ross et al (2021). This categorization of a child as TS or NTS may explain some of the observed mealtime behaviors.…”

“…Feeding problems may also result in restricted variety of food textures, with reports of 35–45% of children with DS (ages 1 month‐12 years) displaying selectivity by food texture (Field et al, 2003; Ross et al, 2021). Recently, a parent survey was performed in children with DS (ages 1–4 years; n = 111) in which parents characterized textures that their children identified as “easy” or “difficult” (Ross et al, 2019).…”