How do children make food choices? Using a think-aloud method to explore the role of internal and external factors on eating behaviour

Ogden, Jane; Roy-Stanley, Catherine

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2019.104551

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Furthermore, this study aims to examine child-reported food preferences for core and discretionary foods and investigate children's response to (PROP) bitter-taste sensitivity. This is supported by the evidence suggesting that children in the age range of 7-12 years (proposed in this study) have the cognitive capacity to express their food preferences accurately [21,22], and this will enable reporting of their sensitivity to bitter taste [14].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…To date, parent-reported questionnaires have been used in measuring young children's food preferences [20]. Although literature has suggested older children can accurately report their food preferences [21] if they are guided in an age-appropriate manner and that children aged six years and above could accurately report their food preferences on a 5-point or more Likert scale [22], currently there is a lack of validated questionnaires that examine child-reported food preferences in an age-appropriate manner. Despite links between both genetic and environmental factors being responsible for picky eating, this complexity (genetics and environment) is under-researched [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Environmental and Bitter Taste Endophenotype Determinants of Picky Eating in Australian School-Aged Children 7–12 years—A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study Protocol

Jani

Byrne

Love

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Caregivers’ perceptions of children’s pickiness are relatively scarce in relation to the five core food groups and their importance in providing a nutritionally balanced diet. Furthermore, there is no validated questionnaire that examines child-reported food preferences in an age-appropriate manner, and the use of terms such as a “picky eater” can be attributed to environmental and genetic factors. Despite potential links between children’s food preferences and endophenotype bitter taste, associations between bitter taste sensitivity and picky eating is relatively unexplored. The proposed cross-sectional study aims to develop and validate a parent-reported core-food Picky Eating Questionnaire (PEQ) and child-reported Food Preference Questionnaire (C-FPQ) and simultaneously investigate environmental and phenotype determinants of picky eating. The study will be conducted in three stages: Phase 1, piloting PEQ and C-FPQ questionnaires (15–20 primary caregivers and their children aged 7–12 years); Phase 2 and 3, validating the revised questionnaires and evaluating the 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) bitter taste sensitivity to examine perception to bitter taste (369 primary caregivers and their children). Study findings will generate new validated tools (PEQ, C-FPQ) for use in evidence-based practice and research and explore picky eating as a behavioural issue via the potential genetic-phenotype basis of bitter taste sensitivity.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Environmental and Bitter Taste Endophenotype Determinants of Picky Eating in Australian School-Aged Children 7–12 years—A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study Protocol

Jani

Byrne

Love

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, considering the relations between unhealthy food decisionmaking and children's self-control development (Ha et al, 2016(Ha et al, , 2019, and the improved self-regulated decisions along with the enhanced cognitive defenses, future studies should address how children's dietary self-control influences the relation between resilience to food commercials and susceptibility to unhealthy food decision-making. Lastly, future studies could utilize a think-aloud method for food choices (Ogden and Roy-Stanley, 2020), which could reveal children's thinking process underneath food decision-making.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Resilience to Food Commercials Decreases Susceptibility to Unhealthy Food Decision-Making

Killian

Davis

et al. 2020

Front. Psychol.

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Children are vulnerable to adverse effects of food advertising. Food commercials are known to increase hedonic, taste-oriented, and unhealthy food decisions. The current study examined how promoting resilience to food commercials impacted susceptibility to unhealthy food decision-making in children. To promote resilience to food commercials, we utilized the food advertising literacy intervention intended to enhance cognitive skepticism and critical thinking, and decrease positive attitudes toward commercials. Thirty-six children aged 8–12 years were randomly assigned to the food advertising literacy intervention or the control condition. Eighteen children received four brief intervention sessions via video over 1 week period. In each session, children watched six food commercials with interspersed embedded intervention narratives. While watching food commercials and narratives, children were encouraged to speak their thoughts out loud spontaneously (“think-aloud”), which provided children's attitudes toward commercials. Eighteen children in the control condition had four control sessions over 1 week, and watched the same food commercials without intervention narratives while thinking aloud. The first and last sessions were held in the laboratory, and the second and third sessions were held at the children's homes. Susceptibility to unhealthy food decision-making was indicated by the decision weights of taste attributes, taste perception, food choices, ad libitum snacking, and cognitive and affective attitudes toward food commercials. As hypothesized, the intervention successfully decreased susceptibility to unhealthy food decision-making evidenced by reduced decision weights of the taste in food decisions, decreased tasty perception of unhealthy foods, and increased cognitive skepticism and critical thinking toward food commercials. In addition, as children's opinions assimilated to intervention narratives, their cognitive skepticism and critical thinking toward commercials increased. The aforementioned results were not shown in the control condition. However, this brief intervention was not enough to change actual food choices or food consumption. Results of this study suggest that promoting resilience to food commercials by enhancing cognitive skepticism and critical thinking effectively reduced children's susceptibility to unhealthy food-decision making.

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“…Behavioral interventions to reduce energy intake can produce beneficial weight-loss results ( Jelalian, 1999 ; Epstein et al, 2001 ), however, they are not effective for all children and lack long-term efficacy ( Mead et al, 2017 ). One reason for this may be a lack of understanding of food-related decision-making in middle childhood (i.e., 6-to-12 years-old), a period where children gain autonomy over food-related decisions ( Ogden and Roy-Stanley, 2020 ). In particular, while research has examined the decision-making mechanisms underlying what foods children select ( Lim et al, 2016 ; van Meer et al, 2017 ; Ha et al, 2020 ; Ogden and Roy-Stanley, 2020 ; Pearce et al, 2020 ), the mechanisms underlying how much children consume are unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One reason for this may be a lack of understanding of food-related decision-making in middle childhood (i.e., 6-to-12 years-old), a period where children gain autonomy over food-related decisions ( Ogden and Roy-Stanley, 2020 ). In particular, while research has examined the decision-making mechanisms underlying what foods children select ( Lim et al, 2016 ; van Meer et al, 2017 ; Ha et al, 2020 ; Ogden and Roy-Stanley, 2020 ; Pearce et al, 2020 ), the mechanisms underlying how much children consume are unclear. To close this gap, this study aims to identify decision-making processes that are associated with increased energy intake and weight status in middle childhood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision-Making Processes Related to Perseveration Are Indirectly Associated With Weight Status in Children Through Laboratory-Assessed Energy Intake

et al. 2021

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Decision-making contributes to what and how much we consume, and deficits in decision-making have been associated with increased weight status in children. Nevertheless, the relationships between cognitive and affective processes underlying decision-making (i.e., decision-making processes) and laboratory food intake are unclear. We used data from a four-session, within-subjects laboratory study to investigate the relationships between decision-making processes, food intake, and weight status in 70 children 7-to-11-years-old. Decision-making was assessed with the Hungry Donkey Task (HDT), a child-friendly task where children make selections with unknown reward outcomes. Food intake was measured with three paradigms: (1) a standard ad libitum meal, (2) an eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) protocol, and (3) a palatable buffet meal. Individual differences related to decision-making processes during the HDT were quantified with a reinforcement learning model. Path analyses were used to test whether decision-making processes that contribute to children’s (a) expected value of a choice and (b) tendency to perseverate (i.e., repeatedly make the same choice) were indirectly associated with weight status through their effects on intake (kcal). Results revealed that increases in the tendency to perseverate after a gain outcome were positively associated with intake at all three paradigms and indirectly associated with higher weight status through intake at both the standard and buffet meals. Increases in the tendency to perseverate after a loss outcome were positively associated with EAH, but only in children whose tendency to perseverate persistedacross trials. Results suggest that decision-making processes that shape children’s tendencies to repeat a behavior (i.e., perseverate) are related to laboratory energy intake across multiple eating paradigms. Children who are more likely to repeat a choice after a positive outcome have a tendency to eat more at laboratory meals. If this generalizes to contexts outside the laboratory, these children may be susceptible to obesity. By using a reinforcement learning model not previously applied to the study of eating behaviors, this study elucidated potential determinants of excess energy intake in children, which may be useful for the development of childhood obesity interventions.

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How do children make food choices? Using a think-aloud method to explore the role of internal and external factors on eating behaviour

Cited by 33 publications

References 63 publications

The Environmental and Bitter Taste Endophenotype Determinants of Picky Eating in Australian School-Aged Children 7–12 years—A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study Protocol

The Environmental and Bitter Taste Endophenotype Determinants of Picky Eating in Australian School-Aged Children 7–12 years—A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study Protocol

Promoting Resilience to Food Commercials Decreases Susceptibility to Unhealthy Food Decision-Making

Decision-Making Processes Related to Perseveration Are Indirectly Associated With Weight Status in Children Through Laboratory-Assessed Energy Intake

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