Staff feeding practices, food neophobia, and educational level in early education and care settings: A cross-sectional study.

Feeding practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings are important for the development of healthy eating habits early in life. However, there is limited research on feeding practices among ECEC staff working with infants and toddlers, and how these practices relate to staff education. This study assessed the feeding practices, level of food neophobia, and participation in shared meals among ECEC staff, and examined whether there were differences in feeding practices related to education and shared meals. Furthermore, we explored the association between food neophobia levels among ECEC staff and their respective feeding practices in ECEC. In total, 130 ECEC teachers and other staff from two Norwegian ECEC trials completed a questionnaire about feeding practices and level of food neophobia. Our results showed that ECEC staff commonly used modelling and encouraging balance and variety feeding practices, but used food as a reward and emotion regulation less often. These practices differed by staff educational level, favoring highly educated staff. We found that more than half of ECEC staff ate lunch together with the children every day, and those who did so used positive feeding practices (encouraging balance and variety and modelling) more than those who did not eat with children; however, they also used restriction for health more often. Higher scores on food neophobia were associated with less use of emotion regulation and restriction for health when adjusted for relevant variables. In conclusion, our results show there is potential to improve feeding practices in ECEC, especially focusing on ECEC staff with low education. Suggested ways forward are updating guidelines to cover feeding practices and working on implementing these guidelines.

Filthy fruit! Confirmation bias and novel food.

Fruit and vegetable consumption is worldwide too low, resulting in poor diet quality and health-related problems. A cognitive factor that might contribute to this low consumption is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias has been established in anxiety research and comprises the tendency to search for reinforcing negative information, while ignoring counter attitudinal information. If applicable to food, asking for negative food information reinforces the negative attitude and decreases the willingness to try (novel) food. The aim of the current study was twofold. First, to examine if confirmation bias translates to food stimuli. Second, to investigate if this bias is exaggerated in persons with higher levels of food neophobia. To this end, 117 participants (age M = 21.45, SD = 4.48) carried out an online study. They filled in the food neophobia scale (FNS) and performed a search for additional information scale (SAIS) task. Four novel fruits were used, two looking tasteful (pomelo and rose apple) and two looking non-tasteful (black sapote and noni fruit). Participants rated their willingness to eat these fruits and subsequently could indicate how eager they were to receive positive or negative information regarding that fruit. The results indicated that the participants were more willing to try the tasteful looking fruits than the non-tasteful. Additionally, higher levels of food neophobia coincided with less willingness to eat all fruits. Confirmation bias was observed, more negative information was requested for the non-tasteful than for the tasteful fruits. This bias was not related to levels of food neophobia. These results are important as confirmation bias might make people even more negative towards novel foods and could contribute to even less fruit and vegetable consumption, especially when they look less appetizing.

The diagnosis of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in the presence of gastrointestinal disorders: Opportunities to define shared mechanisms of symptom expression.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with a gastrointestinal (GI) disorder often alter their diet to manage GI symptoms, adding complexity to understanding the diverse motivations contributing to food avoidance/restriction. When a GI disorder is present, the DSM-5 states that Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) can be diagnosed only when eating disturbance exceeds that expected. There is limited guidance to make this determination. This study attempts to address this gap by characterizing the presentation of ARFID in adults with and without a self-reported GI disorder. METHOD: Participants were 2,610 adults ages 18-44 who self-identified as "picky eaters." Participants reported on motivations for food avoidance, affective experiences towards food, and perceived impairment. Responses were compared across four groups: GI issues and likely ARFID (L-ARFID/GI), L-ARFID-only, GI-only, and No-ARFID/No-GI. RESULTS: Groups with a GI disorder (L-ARFID/GI, GI-only) reported more fear of aversive consequences of eating than those without a GI disorder, while groups with L-ARFID (L-ARFID, L-ARFID/GI) evidenced significantly greater sensory aversion to food and indifference to food or eating, negative emotional reactions to food and overall disgust sensitivity, and eating related impairment. DISCUSSION: Consideration of the interplay of a GI disorder with ARFID can add precision to case conceptualization. Food avoidance may be attempts to manage fears of aversive consequences that are augmented by a history of GI symptoms, while sensory aversions and negative emotional reactions towards foods may be more elevated in ARFID. These findings emphasize the need to consider an ARFID diagnosis in patients with GI disorders to optimize care.

Desire to eat and intake of 'insect' containing food is increased by a written passage: The potential role of familiarity in the amelioration of novel food disgust.

Over two studies we investigated the effect of various written interventions (passages) on the disgust response towards a food (falafels) which supposedly contained mealworm (insect) flour. Actually, participants (Study 1 N = 80, Study 2 N = 78) were given the same non-mealworm containing food in all conditions. Disgust was measured using: tactile sensitivity, food intake, liking and desire to eat. Results of Study 1 showed that a sustainability passage (sustainability advantages of entomophagy), but not a delicacy passage (oro-sensory qualities of insects), was effective in reducing disgust. In Study 2, contrary to prediction, a passage describing the sustainability and nutritional advantages entomophagy failed to reduce disgust - falafel intake, liking and desire to eat were decreased. However, a passage which described how mealworm flour is produced, did significantly reduce disgust. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that written passages can alter the disgust response, notably resulting in a maintenance of food intake. Interventions that increase the perception of familiarity of a novel food, but not logic-based arguments, may be a key driver of the amelioration of disgust. These results also support the suggestion that altering the ideational component of disgust can result in changes of distaste perception.

Factors associated with food neophobia in children: systematic review / Fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças: revisão sistemática

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the factors associated with food neophobia in children through a systematic review. Data sources: This research was based on the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The research was carried out in the PubMed, Science Direct, and Scientific Electronic Library Online databases, with the combination of health descriptors in English and Portuguese: ("Food Neophobia" OR "Feeding Behavior" OR "Food Preferences" OR "Food Selectivity") AND Child, from 2000 to 2019. Studies that evaluated factors associated with food neophobia in children were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project: Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQS). Data synthesis: 19 studies were included in the systematic review. The prevalence of food neophobia ranged from 12.8 to 100%. The studies used three different scales to measure the level of food neophobia. The main factors associated with food neophobia were: parental influence on children's eating habits, children's innate preference for sweet and savory flavors, influence of the sensory aspect of the food, parents' pressure for the child to eat, parents' lack of encouragement and/or affection at mealtime, childhood anxiety, and diets with low variety and low nutritional quality. Conclusions: The factors associated with food neophobia permeate several areas of the child's life, thus, interprofessional follow-up becomes essential in the intervention process.

RESUMO Objetivo: Identificar os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças por meio de uma revisão sistemática. Fontes de dados: Esta pesquisa foi baseada nas recomendações do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. A busca foi realizada nas bases de dados PubMed, ScienceDirect e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), com a conjugação dos descritores em saúde em português e inglês: ("Food Neophobia" OR "Feeding Behavior" OR "Food Preferences" OR "Food Selectivity") AND Child, no período de 2000 a 2019. Foram incluídos os estudos que avaliaram os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar em crianças. A qualidade dos estudos foi mensurada por meio da ferramenta Effective Public Health Practice Project: Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQS). Síntese dos dados: Dezenove trabalhos foram incluídos na revisão sistemática. A prevalência da neofobia alimentar variou de 12,8 a 100%. Os estudos utilizaram três diferentes escalas a fim de medir o nível de neofobia alimentar. Os principais fatores associados a esse quadro foram: influência parental nos hábitos alimentares da criança, preferência inata das crianças por sabores doces e salgados, influência do aspecto sensorial do alimento, pressão dos pais para a criança comer, falta de encorajamento e/ou afetividade dos pais no momento das refeições, ansiedade na infância, dietas pouco variadas e com baixa qualidade nutricional. Conclusões: Os fatores associados à neofobia alimentar permeiam diversos âmbitos da vida da criança, assim, o acompanhamento interprofissional torna-se essencial no processo de intervenção.

Cross-cultural validation of the short version of the Food Disgust Scale in ten countries.

The cross-cultural testing of scales represents an important step in the scale validation process. The present study evaluated whether the eight-item short version of the recently developed Food Disgust Scale (FDS-short) is a reliable and valid tool for measuring food disgust sensitivity in ten countries: Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. In an online survey, the participants (N = 6128) answered items from the FDS-short and other scales related to (food) disgust sensitivity so as to test the construct and criterion validity of the FDS-short. Confirmatory factor analysis of the one-factor structure of the FDS-short revealed an adequate to good model fit in all the countries except for China. Multiple group analysis to test measurement invariance showed the FDS-short to be metrically invariant in all the tested countries (except for China) relative to Australia. With regard to the construct validity, significant positive correlations were observed in all the countries between the FDS-short and pathogen disgust sensitivity, sexual disgust sensitivity, moral disgust sensitivity, germ aversion, and food neophobia. Criterion validity of the FDS-short in all the tested countries was confirmed by the positive correlations between it and having a sensitive stomach, experiencing gastrointestinal complaints after eating animal-based foods (except for France and Germany), and the perceived infection risk of food-borne diseases in one's country. The direction of the correlations indicated that for each country, those with higher FDS-short scores also scored higher on all the tested constructs than those with lower FDS-short scores. Taken together, the present results indicate that the FDS-short is a reliable and valid tool for assessing food disgust sensitivity across countries.

European consumers' readiness to adopt insects as food. A review.

Edible insects seem one of the more probable responses to the increased quantity of food proteins needed in future prospective related to the increase of human population, mainly in developing countries. Introduction of entomophagy in developed countries, especially in Europe and North America, could help this trend and drive the world food economy to reach that goal. Few articles were published on acceptability of edible insect in European countries, with a large variability of methodologies used. Furthermore, both structure and unstructured (or semi-structured) techniques were analysed and compared. Through this review article, we analysed the different methodologies conducted on European consumers and categorised the studies in relation to the type of analysis chosen, data collection and results obtained. Limitation of the research studies and future recommendations were explored leading to better investigate consumers' acceptance.

Neofobia alimentaria y trastornos de conducta alimentaria: Impacto en la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea de universitarios españoles / Food neophobia and eating disorders: Impact on adherence to the Mediterranean diet of Spanish university students

RESUMEN Este estudio evaluó la actitud de los universitarios murcianos hacia los nuevos alimentos y su relación con la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea, el riesgo de alteraciones de la conducta alimentaria y su asociación con la masa corporal. Participaron estudiantes de la Universidad de Murcia a los cuales se realizaron mediciones antropométricas, peso y talla, para estimar el índice de masa corporal y se estableció su condición nutricional, y se aplicaron las encuestas para identificación de trastornos de conducta alimentaria y neofobia alimentaria. Participaron un total de 300 universitarios con un promedio de edad de 21.3 años. Sólo el 14% de las mujeres y 35% de los hombres presentaron exceso de peso. Un 44% presentan buena adherencia a la dieta mediterránea. La Neofobia fue ligeramente mayor en mujeres que en hombres. Entre los resultados se identificó que existen más conductas de trastornos de conducta alimentaria (15.5%) que neofobia (11.5%), impactando negativamente a la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea. Los universitarios de la Región de Murcia, presentan una puntuación en trastorno de la conducta alimentaria inferior a la reportada por otros autores, no existiendo diferencias significativas entre esta y el sexo, la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea o el IMC.

ABSTRACT The study was designed to evaluate the attitude of Spanish undergraduates towards new foods and its impact on adherence to the Mediterranean diet, risk of altered eating behavior and its association with body mass. Undergraduates of the University of Murcia were invited to participate. Anthropometry (weight and height) was measured to estimate body mass and nutritional status and surveys were administered to identify eating disorders and food neophobia. A total of 300 undergraduates participated, with a mean age of 21.3 years. Only 14% of the women and 35% of the men were overweight; 44% had good adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Neophobia is slightly higher in females than males. We observed more eating disorder behaviors (15.5%) compared to food neophobia (11.5%) and that both negatively impacted the adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Undergraduates from the Murcia Region, reported an eating disorder values lower than that reported by other authors. No significant differences were found between this and sex, adherence to the Mediterranean diet or BMI.

Selected Psychological Aspects of Meat Consumption-A Short Review.

Eating meat is deeply entrenched in Western culture. It is often associated with wealth and a highly nutritional diet; and for many people it is also an established habit that is difficult to change. The second half of the 20th century was a period of rapid growth in meat consumption, which resulted in intensified meat production. At the same time, eating meat has recently become subject to criticism for health-related, environmental or humanitarian reasons. This review aims to signal the potential consequences of a change of diet or switching to diets that are rich/poor in certain ingredients on the functioning of the hormonal and nervous system, which translates into changes in mood and behavior. This paper discusses the psychological phenomena which underlie the difficulty of changing one's food preferences and problems encountered while adding new products to the daily diet. Finally, this study summarizes the limitations of modifying eating habits that have resulted from established attitudes and habits.

Influence of Food Neophobia Level on Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Its Association with Urban Area of Residence and Physical Activity in a Nationwide Case-Control Study of Polish Adolescents.

Among the factors that may influence fruit and vegetable intake, there is a food neophobia level, but the other elements, including physical activity and place of residence, must also be taken into account as interfering ones. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between food neophobia level and the intake of fruits and vegetables in a nationwide case-control study of Polish adolescents (12⁻13 years), including the influence of gender, the physical activity program participation and the place of residence. The #goathletics Study was conducted among a group of 1014 adolescents, 507 individuals representative for a nationwide physical activity program "Athletics for All" participants (characterized by an active lifestyle) and 507 pair-matched individuals (characterized by sedentary behavior), while 502 were representative for urban and 512 for suburban area. The assessment of food neophobia level was based on the Food Neophobia Scale questionnaire and the assessment of fruit and vegetable intake was based on the validated food frequency questionnaire. It was observed that higher food neophobia level is associated with a lower fruit and vegetable intake, that was stated both for girls and boys, as well as both for individuals characterized by an active lifestyle and those characterized by sedentary behavior, both from urban and suburban area. Food neophobic individuals characterized by an active lifestyle and those from urban areas were characterized by a higher fruit intake than individuals characterized by sedentary behavior and those from suburban areas, from the same food neophobia category. It was found that food neophobia may reduce fruit and vegetable intake, but the physical activity education with peers may reduce the observed influence and should be applied especially in the case of neophobic individuals from suburban areas.

Sensory-based food education in early childhood education and care, willingness to choose and eat fruit and vegetables, and the moderating role of maternal education and food neophobia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between sensory-based food education implemented in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres and children's willingness to choose and eat vegetables, berries and fruit, and whether the mother's education level and children's food neophobia moderate the linkage. DESIGN: The cross-sectional study involved six ECEC centres that provide sensory-based food education and three reference centres. A snack buffet containing eleven different vegetables, berries and fruit was used to assess children's willingness to choose and eat the food items. The children's parents completed the Food Neophobia Scale questionnaire to assess their children's food neophobia. SETTING: ECEC centres that provide sensory-based food education and reference ECEC centres in Finland. SUBJECTS: Children aged 3-5 years in ECEC (n 130) and their parents. RESULTS: Sensory-based food education was associated with children's willingness to choose and eat vegetables, berries and fruit. This association was stronger among the children of mothers with a low education level. A high average level of neophobia in the child group reduced the children's willingness to choose vegetables, berries and fruit. No similar tendency was observed in the group that had received sensory-based food education. Children's individual food neophobia had a negative association with their willingness to choose and eat the vegetables, berries and fruit. CONCLUSIONS: Child-oriented sensory-based food education seems to provide a promising method for promoting children's adoption of vegetables, berries and fruit in their diets. In future sensory food education research, more focus should be placed on the effects of the education at the group level.

Development and validation of the Food Disgust Picture Scale.

The present set of studies developed and tested the Food Disgust Picture Scale (FDPS). This is a tool for the assessment of food disgust sensitivity that will measure disgust and predict possible reactions. This eight-picture tool can be used in complement to or as a replacement for currently available text-based measures. In an exploratory Study 1 (N = 57), we constructed a scale consisting of eight pictures. Most of them were taken from validated picture databases. They proved powerful in the assessment of food disgust sensitivity. Study 2 built on these results and refined the scale by substituting pictures from Study 1 with freely available images displaying similar content. The basic structure of the FDPS was then replicated in a bigger sample of Swiss adults (N = 538). Correlational analyses using the eight-item Food Disgust Scale (FDS short), the revised version of the Disgust Scale (DS-R), and the food neophobia scale (FNS) supported the convergent validity of the FDPS. In Study 3 (N = 226), we used a test-retest design to demonstrate the short-term stability of the FDPS. As a result of these studies, the present work provides a short and comprehensive measure of food disgust sensitivity. This novel approach of using pictures to induce a disgust response independently of language significantly facilitates intercultural research on disgust. The FDPS will further contribute to the understanding of food-related disgust and its impact on our food choices.

Influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão da neofobia alimentar / Influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior

Resumo O estudo objetivou avaliar a influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão do comportamento alimentar neofóbico. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado com 247 universitários de ambos os sexos, com idade média de 24,6 ± 6,8 anos, matriculados no primeiro e no último ano de graduação em Nutrição e em outros cursos superiores da área de ciência da saúde. Foi avaliado o grau de neofobia alimentar através da Escala de Neofobia Alimentar associada a uma medida comportamental, obtida a partir da escolha entre alimentos conhecidos ou desconhecidos. De acordo com os resultados, os estudantes que estavam o início do curso de Nutrição apresentaram maiores escores de neofobia alimentar do que os do final do curso. No entanto, essa diferença não foi observada quando se comparou com os estudantes ingressantes e concluintes de outros cursos de graduação. Já na avaliação comportamental, foi visto que a maior parte dos estudantes concluintes do curso de Nutrição escolheu a preparação desconhecida, enquanto que nos demais grupos a maioria optou pela conhecida. Os resultados sugerem que a formação acadêmica em Nutrição pode ter influência sobre a expressão da neofobia alimentar.

Abstract This study sought to evaluate the influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior. It is a cross-sectional study conducted with 247 students, of both sexes and mean age of 24.6 ± 6.8 years, enrolled in the first and last year of the undergraduate course in nutrition and other higher education courses in the area of health science. The level of food neophobia was evaluated through the Food Neophobia Scale associated with a behavioral measure obtained from the choice between known or unknown food. In accordance with the results, the students who were embarking on the nutrition course had higher food neophobia scores than the students nearing the end of the course. However, this difference was not observed when compared with freshmen and seniors studying in other courses. In the behavioral assessment, it was seen that most of the seniors from the nutrition course chose the unknown preparation, while in the other groups the majority chose the known preparation. The results suggest that academic training in Nutrition may have an influence on the incidence of food neophobia.

Taste education reduces food neophobia and increases willingness to try novel foods in school children.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study measured the effects of a taste education program developed in Korea on food neophobia and willingness to try novel foods in school children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: One-hundred and twenty school children (aged 7-9 years) residing in Seoul participated in 12 sessions of a taste education program for 3 months. The Korean taste education program was adapted from "Les classes du goût" by J. Puisais and modified to suit a Korean education environment. The study subjected school children to pre- and post-programs on food neophobia and willingness to try novel foods (WTNF), in addition to children's food neophobia in their parents. A total of 101 survey data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: Regarding the effects of taste education, scores of food neophobia significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in the posttest, mean (m) score (4.10 ± 1.19) decreased compared to the pretest (4.39 ± 1.00), and WTNF significantly increased (P < 0.001) in the pretest (m) score (0.48 ± 0.33) compared to the pretest (0.32 ± 0.34). This result indicates verification of the study hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS: Food neophobia scale (FNS), an index that measures personal food preference [12], showed a very weak correlation with behavioral willingness to taste novel foods (WTNF). Therefore, it is expected that the two scales measure different things. However, considering that the traits of food neophobia are not easily changed, the taste education program was administered in a remarkably effective manner.

Dietary behaviors of adults born prematurely may explain future risk for cardiovascular disease.

Being born prematurely associates with greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in adulthood. Less understood are the unique and joint associations of dietary patterns and behaviors to this elevated risk among adults who are born prematurely. We aimed to model the associations between term status, dietary and lifestyle behaviors with CVD risk factors while accounting for the longitudinal effects of family protection, and medical or environmental risks. In wave-VIII of a longitudinal study, 23-year olds born prematurely (PT-adults, n = 129) and full term (FT-adults, n = 38) survey-reported liking for foods/beverages and activities, constructed into indexes of dietary quality and sensation-seeking, dietary restraint and physical activity. Measured CVD risk factors included fasting serum lipids and glucose, blood pressure and adiposity. In bivariate relationships, PT-adults reported lower dietary quality (including less affinity for protein-rich foods and higher affinity for sweets), less liking for sensation-seeking foods/activities, and less restrained eating than did FT-adults. In comparison to nationally-representative values and the FT-adults, PT-adults showed greater level of CVD risk factors for blood pressure and serum lipids. In structural equation modeling, dietary quality completely mediated the association between term status and HDL-cholesterol (higher quality, lower HDL-cholesterol) yet joined term status to explain variability in systolic blood pressure (PT-adults with lowest dietary quality had highest blood pressures). Through lower dietary quality, being born prematurely was indirectly linked to higher cholesterol/HDL, higher LDL/HDL and elevated waist/hip ratios. The relationship between dietary quality and CVD risk was strongest for PT-adults who had developed greater cumulative medical risk. Protective environments failed to attenuate relationships between dietary quality and elevated CVD risk among PT-adults. In summary, less healthy dietary behaviors contribute to elevated CVD risk among young adults who are born prematurely.

Effects of sensory education based on classroom activities for lower grade school children.

This study is to verify the effects of sensory education based on classroom activities for 2(nd) and 3(rd) grade children. The hypothesis is that children who participated in sensory education would demonstrate positive changes in eating behaviors through sensory experiences. The sensory education program consists of 12 lessons. Twenty-six children were being recruited from one school in Changwon, Korea. Two control groups, one of which was the same age as the educated group and the other group of sixth graders, were selected by random sampling from the same school. Children answered a self-administered questionnaire. The parents (n = 20) of the children who participated in the program, took part in evaluating the program through self-administered questionnaires after the program ended. The questionnaire contained variables of general characteristics, education satisfaction, nutrition knowledge, eating attitude and behavior concerning unfamiliar foods. The score of nutrition knowledge was improved in educated children (P < 0.05). Food neophobia score towards unfamiliar foods (P < 0.05) was increased in educated children, but there are no changes in eating behaviors in all groups towards unfamiliar foods. In conclusion, sensory education is useful for having a positive eating attitude among children. Its consistent implementation could lead to healthier and well-balanced eating behaviors for children.