• Children eat what they like, but food in

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Feb 22 21:31:34 2022
    Children eat what they like, but food intake driven more by what they
    dislike

    Date:
    February 22, 2022
    Source:
    Penn State
    Summary:
    It is often said that 'children eat what they like,' but the
    results of a new study by nutritionists and sensory scientists
    suggests that when it comes to meals, it is more accurate and more
    relevant to say, 'children do not eat what they dislike.'


    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    It is often said that "children eat what they like," but the results of
    a new study by Penn State nutritionists and sensory scientists suggests
    that when it comes to meals, it is more accurate and more relevant to say, "children do not eat what they dislike."

    ========================================================================== There is an important difference, according to lead researcher Kathleen
    Keller, associate professor in the departments of Nutritional Sciences
    and Food Science, who conducted an experiment involving 61 children ages
    4-6 years to assess the relationship between their liking of foods in a
    meal and subsequent intake. The research revealed that when presented
    with a meal, disliking is a stronger predictor of what youngsters eat
    than liking.

    "In other words, rather than high-liking driving greater intake, our
    study data indicate that lower-liking led children to avoid some foods
    and leave them on the plate," she said. "Kids have a limited amount of
    room in their bellies, so when they are handed a tray, they gravitate
    toward their favorite thing and typically eat that first, and then make
    choices about whether to eat other foods." Study co-author John Hayes, professor of food science and director of the Sensory Evaluation Center
    in the College of Agricultural Sciences, puts it another way.

    "For 50 plus years, we've known liking and intake are positively
    correlated, but this often leads to the mistaken assumption that if
    it tastes better, you will eat more," he said. "Reality is a bit more
    nuanced. In adults, we know that if you really like a food, you may
    or may not eat it. But if you don't like it, you'll rarely or never
    eat it. These new data show the same pattern is true in young kids."
    Children participated in two identical laboratory sessions in the study conducted in Keller's Children's Eating Behavior Laboratory in the College
    of Health and Human Development, where seven foods -- chicken nuggets,
    ketchup, potato chips, grapes, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and cookies --
    were included on a tray. Also included were two beverages, fruit punch
    and milk.



    ========================================================================== Before eating the meals, children were asked to rate their liking of
    each food on the following five-point scale -- Super Bad, Bad, Maybe
    Good-Maybe Bad, Good and Super Good. After the children had eaten as
    much of the meal as they wanted, the researchers weighed what they
    ate and compared the results with what the kids said they liked and
    disliked. The correlations were striking.

    In findings recently published in the journal Appetite, the researchers reported that the relationship between liking and intake was not strong
    for most of the foods. For instance, only liking for potato chips,
    grapes, cherry tomatoes and fruit punch was positively associated with
    the amount consumed.

    But no associations were found between liking and intake of other
    meal items.

    However, there was a strong correlation between consumption -- or nonconsumption in this case -- and the foods the children said they
    didn't like. At a multi-component meal, rather than eating what they
    like, these data are more consistent with the notion that children do
    not eat what they dislike, the researchers concluded.

    Even at a young age, children's food choices are influenced by their
    parents and peers, Keller pointed out. So, we need to be careful with assumptions about what truly is driving their behavior when they sit
    down to eat a meal.

    "They pick up on what is said around the table about what foods are
    good, and while that may not actually correspond to kids eating them,
    they are taking it all in, and that's affecting their perceptions of
    foods," she said. "Milk is a good example of that -- for some families,
    there may be a health halo effect around milk. Kids learn from an early
    age that drinking milk will give them a strong body, so they may drink
    milk even if it's not their favorite beverage." Because children in the
    United States continue to consume insufficient amounts of vegetables,
    the findings of research projects such as this one are of great interest
    to parents, many of whom struggle to get their kids to eat vegetables,
    Keller believes. Parents want to know how they can improve their kids' nutrition.

    "Some parents struggle with kids who are very picky eaters," she
    said. "That can cause long-term nutrition issues and creates a lot of
    stress for the family. I think picky eating is one of the most common complaints that I hear from parents -- 'How do I get my child to accept
    more foods? How do I make the dinner experience better and easier
    for my family?'" Also contributing to this research were Catherine
    Shehan, a former graduate student in the Department of Food Science
    who is currently a quality manager at Epic in Madison, Wisconsin; Terri Cravener, research coordinator and manager of the Children's Eating Lab
    at Penn State; and Haley Schlechter, nutritional sciences major.

    special promotion Get a free digital "Metabolism Myths"
    issue of New Scientist and discover the 7 things we
    always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Penn_State. Original written by Jeff Mulhollem. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Kathleen L. Keller, Catherine Shehan, Terri Cravener, Haley
    Schlechter,
    John E. Hayes. Do children really eat what they like? Relationships
    between liking and intake across laboratory test-meals. Appetite,
    2022; 172: 105946 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.105946 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220222161826.htm

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