Picky Eating in School-Aged Children: Sociodemographic Determinants and the Associations with Dietary Intake

Abstract

Children exhibiting picky eating behavior often demonstrate strong food preferences and rejection of particular foods or food texture, which may lead to limited dietary variety and possibly inadequate or unhealthy diet. Yet, the relationship between picky eating and nutrient intake in school-aged children has not been established previously. This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic determinants of picky eating and the associations between picky eating and dietary intake in children. Data of 424 healthy Saudi children aged 6–12 years were collected from their mothers. A child’s picky eating habits were captured using a validated questionnaire. Sociodemographic characteristics of the children were assessed. Dietary data, including 24 h dietary recalls and frequency of fruit, vegetable, and milk consumption, were collected by dietetic professionals using phone-administered interviews. Compared to those of normal-weight mothers, children of mothers with obesity had higher odds of being in the highest tertile of picky eating (OR = 1.93; 95% CI 1.02, 3.63). Children exhibiting higher levels of picky eating consumed less fruits (B = −0.03; 95% CI −0.06, −0.01), vegetables (B = −0.05; 95% CI −0.07, −0.02), and protein (B = −0.21; 95% CI −0.33, −0.09), and had higher consumption of trans fatty acid intake (B = 1.10; 95% CI 0.06, 2.15). Children with higher levels of picky eating presented unhealthy dietary behaviors. Future studies are needed to examine the long-term effect of picky eating on cardiovascular health. Dietary behaviors of mothers with obesity must be taken into consideration when designing intervention programs aiming to improve eating behaviors of children.

Nutritional Status and Feeding Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Middle East and North Africa Region: A Systematic Review

“…Feeding disorders, such as food refusals, limited preferences, and disrupted mealtime behavior, are commonly observed during ages 1 year to 3 years old [ 87 ]; reported frequently in ASD-C as sensory processing disorders, including tactile, taste/smell, and visual/auditory sensitivities that exert an influence on feeding behaviors [ 86 ]. Similar to on the current review on ASD-C, a high prevalence of added sugar consumption [ 88 , 89 ] and presence of disordered feeding behaviors [ 90 , 91 , 92 ] were also reported among TD-C in the MENA region. These are influenced by maternal obesity [ 90 ], mealtime setting, and food introduction methods following weaning [ 91 ].…”

“…Similar to on the current review on ASD-C, a high prevalence of added sugar consumption [ 88 , 89 ] and presence of disordered feeding behaviors [ 90 , 91 , 92 ] were also reported among TD-C in the MENA region. These are influenced by maternal obesity [ 90 ], mealtime setting, and food introduction methods following weaning [ 91 ]. Most studies in our review were limited for not including a comparison group to assess the feeding behavior in ASD-C.…”

Associations of diet quality, food consumption, eating frequency and eating behaviour with dental caries experience in Finnish children: a 2-year longitudinal study

“…In our study, food fussiness and slowness in eating had direct longitudinal associations with increased caries experience over two years, whereas enjoyment of food was associated with a decrease in caries experience. Food fussiness is common in childhood and has been defined as avoiding familiar and unfamiliar foods, leading to consuming an inadequate variety or quantity of foods (56) . Slowness in eating represents the lack of enjoyment and interest in food, whereas enjoyment of food represents higher interest and responsiveness for food (14) .…”

Perceived Barriers and Needs of Dietary Macro Nutrient Intake in Adolescent Schoolgirls in Small Island

“…The present findings also align with earlier evidence that picky adolescents are more likely to eat only their favorite foods and eat less than the relevant recommendation. 25 Technology also creates barriers to adequate food consumption in teenagers, including forgetting to eat because of addiction to cell-phone usage and preferring to buy internet quotas rather than nutritious food. This island is limited in terms of places to hangout for young people such as mall or other crowded places to spend free time with friends.…”