J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 Jul;115(7):1134-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.02.020. Epub 2015 Apr 29.
Previous research has shown that parental reports of food neophobia and tactile sensitivity are associated with lower fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake in children. This study aimed to pilot a behavioral observation measure of tactile play in young children. The primary aim of the study was to see whether children's enjoyment of tactile play was associated with higher F/V consumption, as well as lower food neophobia. Seventy 2- to 5-year-old children (37 males and 33 females) and their parents were recruited through children's centers in the Leicester region of the United Kingdom during July to October 2012. Children's engagement in two tactile play tasks using sticky foods (mashed potatoes and vegetarian gelatin) was observed and rated by both the researcher and parent. Parents were asked to complete a series of questionnaires measuring F/V consumption, food neophobia, and sensory processing. It was found that lower child food neophobia was significantly related to enjoyment of tactile play, whereas child F/V consumption was associated with parental F/V consumption, but not enjoyment of tactile play. The findings strengthen the idea that tactile processing may be associated with the acceptance of food variety, but not the total amount of F/V consumed. Additional research is indicated to determine whether tactile play tasks can be used to lower child food neophobia.
先前的研究表明，父母对食物恐新症和触觉敏感性的报告与儿童水果和蔬菜（F/V）摄入量较低有关。本研究旨在试用一种针对幼儿触觉游戏的行为观察测量方法。该研究的主要目的是观察儿童对触觉游戏的享受是否与更高的 F/V 消费以及较低的食物恐新症有关。2012 年 7 月至 10 月期间，通过英国莱斯特地区的儿童中心招募了 70 名 2 至 5 岁的儿童（37 名男性和 33 名女性）及其父母。使用粘性食物（土豆泥和素食明胶）观察和评估了儿童参与两项触觉游戏任务的情况，观察者和父母均对其进行了评分。父母被要求完成一系列调查问卷，以测量 F/V 消费、食物恐新症和感官处理。结果发现，儿童的食物恐新症越低，对触觉游戏的享受程度越高，而儿童 F/V 的消费与父母的 F/V 消费有关，但与对触觉游戏的享受程度无关。这些发现进一步证实了触觉处理可能与接受食物多样性有关，而与 F/V 的总摄入量无关。需要进一步的研究来确定触觉游戏任务是否可以用于降低儿童的食物恐新症。
