Food Neophobia, Odor and Taste Sensitivity, and Overall Flavor Perception in Food

Dietary Challenges in Children with Gluten-Related Disorders: A Study on Food Neophobia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Food neophobia (FN) in childhood is characterized by resistance to new foods, potentially impairing health and diet quality and impacting physical and mental development. Adequate nutrition in early childhood is crucial to preventing future problems. FN demands special attention, especially in cases of gluten-related disorders (GRD), due to the risks associated with restrictive diets and food allergies. The objective of this study was to investigate and classify the prevalence of FN among Brazilian children aged 4 to 11 years with GRD.

METHODS

For this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire validated in Portuguese, with 25 items, assessed FN in three domains: general FN, FN of fruits, and FN of vegetables. Data were collected via Google Forms.

RESULTS

Of 209 children with GRD, the majority were female, 83.7% were diagnosed with celiac conditions, 81.3% followed a diet, and 43.1% had moderate total food neophobia. Brazilian children with GRD have a moderate prevalence of food neophobia. General and vegetable neophobia predominate, while fruit FN is lower. Girls exhibit greater neophobia towards vegetables.

CONCLUSIONS

Neophobia does not vary with age, suggesting the persistence of the behavior and potential nutritional challenges in adult life. Differentiated attention to this population is essential to minimize long-term impacts.

Is food produced by farmers healthier, more natural, and gaining more popularity? Research on the influencing mechanism of food producer labels on consumers' food choices

Introduction

Extant studies have demonstrated the relationship between naturalness and healthiness, and the effectiveness of various food labels in influencing consumers' perception of food and subsequent food choices. However, little attention has been given to food producer labels.

Methods

Drawing on Stimulation-Organism-Response theory, the current study explored the causal relationship between food producer labels and consumers' food choices. Three studies (562 participants) were employed to test the main effect, the mediating effect, and the moderating effect.

Results

The results showed that: (1) food producer label could influence consumers' food choice, that is, produced-by-farmer label (vs. produced-by-enterprise label vs. control group) could significantly increase consumers' food choices, while there is no significant difference between produced-by-enterprise label and control group. (2) Perceived naturalness and standardization perception mediate the effects on consumers' food choices of food producer labels. (3) Food processing level moderates the effect of food producer label on consumers' food choices.

Discussion

The current study enriches the research of food label and food choice, expands the application of Stimulation-Organism-Response theory in consumer behavior, and provides some practical suggestions for consumers, enterprise and policy-maker. Various kinds of experiments (online and offline) enhanced the conclusions' ecological validity. Finally, the limitations and future research are discussed.

Assessing Food Preferences and Neophobias among Spanish Adolescents from Castilla-La Mancha

Food neophobia is a reaction of dislike or fear of food, which may be due to a wide variety of factors (taste, texture, exposure at an early age, genetics, or diversity in feeding practices and food consumption). The aim of this study was to assess the preferences for tastes and foods and food neophobias among Spanish adolescents and to compare the differences between boys and girls. This was a cross-sectional observational study on 11-18-year-old healthy adolescents (n = 600; 50% female) recruited in the Castilla-La Mancha region (central Spain). Information on taste preferences, food neophobias, anthropometric measurements, and sociodemographic data was recorded. The highest taste preference was found for sweet, salty, and umami. Most adolescents usually did not try new foods outside the home, nor did they like to try foods from other countries. More than half of them also acknowledged being selective eaters or were very particular about the foods they ate. There were no significant associations between taste preference and neophobias with obesity, waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), sleep, and smoking. Adolescents showed a high unwillingness to change food habits, and most of the food neophobias found in the current study were related to new, novel, or previously unknown foods. Spanish adolescents from central Spain (Castilla-La Mancha region) showed a preference for sweet, salty, and umami tastes of foods, as well as food neophobia towards foods that they do not regularly consume, mainly those with a bitter taste. Gender and body weight showed little influence, and age had a moderate influence on food neophobias. Familiarity with foods, as well as educational activities, are suggested as useful to decrease food neophobias among adolescents.