Effects of food neophobia and dietary communication in mother and child on vegetable intake.

Abstract

This study aimed to characterize the effects on vegetable consumption caused by mother-child food neophobia and their dietary communication, both of which have a great influence on the child's eating behavior. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted in elementary and junior high school students who had regular dental visits and their mothers, and 193 subjects were analyzed. Items included in the questionnaire were largely basic attributes and food neophobia of the mother and child, likes and dislikes, triggers of the child's food aversion, eating habits, mother-child communication about eating habits, frequency of vegetable intake, and preference. Multiple regression analysis determined that food neophobia of the child, experience of forced feeding by the parents, and experience of forced feeding by teachers had a significant positive influence on the likes and dislikes of children, while joint eating behavior with the mother and conversation at table with friends, child age had a significant negative influence. As the factors influencing the number of vegetables the child cannot eat, likes and dislikes of the child, mother's preference for new food, and the number of vegetables the mother cannot eat had a significant positive influence. In contrast, food neophobia of the child had a significant negative influence. Mother-child food neophobia can affect eating behavior, specifically holding the key to vegetable consumption or non-consumption. The study results suggest that when eating habit guidance is provided emphasis should be placed on joint eating behavior of the mother and child such as food-related conversation, shopping, cooking, and vegetable cultivation, which are considered to be effective in decreasing the likes and dislikes of children, and interventions to enhance dietary communication, for example conversation at table with friends.

Effects of food neophobia and oral health on the nutritional status of community-dwelling older adults

“…In contrast, familial practices of food neophobia have been shown to be highly influenced by vertical inheritance and by family members who live together [ 33 – 35 ]. In particular, it has been reported that when consuming novel foods, an individual’s appetite decreases if the person they are eating with shows disgust but increases if the other person displays pleasure [ 36 ].…”

Development and validation of Japanese version of alternative food neophobia scale (J-FNS-A): association with willingness to eat alternative protein foods

“…In the study of Imada and Yoneyama, 14-item Japanese statements related to food neophilia (3 items) and FN (11 items) were selected from 41 statements that were originally generated by 27 Japanese university students, and a factor structure of the Japanese version of the FNS was tested using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to verify its validity ( 50 ); however, some questions remain, such as 3 items related to the avoidance factor that do not show negative factor loadings for the approach factor. Despite this theoretical paradox, the 14-item score was used as the FN tendency in later studies ( 51 , 52 ). Alternatively, removing 3 items (two of which were related to the avoidance factor) confirmed a sufficient internal consistency to use as the food neophilia scale ( 15 ).…”