Parental Perspective and Feeding Practices Effects on Food Neophobia in Elementary-Age School Children

Abstract

The Food neophobia (FN) behaviors in children are developed during childhood and can be influenced by parental FN and feeding behaviors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between FN and fruit and vegetable neophobia (FVN) among parents, the parents-reports on child's behavior and child self-reports. The effect of parental feeding practices and demographic variables on children's FN and FVN were evaluated. Sixty-eight parents paired with their elementary school children (aged 7-12 years) in San Luis Coastal Unified School District participated in this study. Results indicated that parents reported their children more neophobic than children self-reported neophobia; however, there was a significant association between parents-reported child FN and child self-reported FN (r=0.62, p<0.05). FVN behaviors were positively and consistently correlated with FN in both parents and children. Parents with the highest income levels used less restriction for weight and child control strategies to feed their children (p<0.05). More pressure to eat was applied significantly for younger children, which increased their levels of food and FVN as reported by parents. Keywords: Food neophobia, fruit and vegetable neophobia, parental feeding practices, elementary-age school children, parents v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my advisor Dr Amy Lammert for her support, advice and guidance that she has provided throughout my time as her student. I would like to thank to my thesis committee Dr Samir Amin and Dr Richard Volpe for their encouragement and support. I would like to thank my lab mate, Maria Handley, for all her help. I would like to thank all parents and children who participated in this study and completed our surveys as well as the principals and staff of the elementary schools in San Luis Coastal Unified School District. I would like to thank to the faculty, staff and students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at California Polytechnic State University for supporting our work. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family and my husband, Moslem Ladoni, for their continued support and encouragement. vi