Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences, Department of Management, Fuglesangs Allé 4, Building 2623, D205, 8210, Aarhus V, Denmark.
Appetite. 2021 Oct 1;165:105276. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105276. Epub 2021 May 7.
To avoid the rising spread of childhood obesity and preserve resources within planetary boundaries, healthy and sustainable eating habits and the consumption of adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables should be encouraged. Children's food preference was found to be an important determinant for food choice and consumption. The aim of this study was to explore children's food preferences using drawing as a projective technique in terms of healthy and sustainable eating and compare food preference patterns in Denmark and Lithuania.
In total 484 children, aged between 8 and 13 years old, participated in the study (147 in Denmark and 337 in Lithuania). Participants were asked to fill the food preference questionnaire and answer questions about their daily intake of fruits, vegetables, and snacks and draw their favorite meal afterward. Sociodemographic questions about children's age, gender, parents' employment, and family composition were also included in the questionnaire.
Fruits, vegetables, highly-processed and animal-based foods were not included in a large part of children's most preferred meal composition. Favorite meals' composition varied among children in both countries and included different products from separate food groups. Vegetables were more likely to be present in the children's favorite meals together with meat products. Girls in both countries had more expressed vegetable preferences than boys. Boys in Lithuania had a relatively more expressed preference for highly-processed foods, while Danish girls had a more expressed preference for animal-based products.
Children's preferences for foods such as meat and animal-based products expressed in children's drawings, might be considered as relatively positive in terms of sustainable eating. However, children's preferences and intake of fruits and vegetables should still be encouraged among young consumers. Cultural and gender differences in children's food preferences should be considered while creating interventions and marketing strategies for promoting healthy and sustainable eating among young consumers.
为了避免儿童肥胖率的不断上升和保护地球资源，应鼓励健康和可持续的饮食习惯以及摄入足够的水果和蔬菜。儿童的食物偏好被认为是食物选择和消费的重要决定因素。本研究旨在通过绘画这一投射技术来探讨儿童的食物偏好，以了解健康和可持续的饮食，并比较丹麦和立陶宛的儿童食物偏好模式。
共有 484 名 8 至 13 岁的儿童参与了这项研究（丹麦 147 名，立陶宛 337 名）。参与者被要求填写食物偏好问卷，回答有关他们日常水果、蔬菜和零食摄入量的问题，然后画出他们最喜欢的餐食。问卷还包括有关儿童年龄、性别、父母职业和家庭构成等社会人口学问题。
水果、蔬菜、高度加工和动物源食品并没有包含在大部分儿童最喜爱的餐食组合中。来自不同食物组的不同产品构成了两国儿童最喜欢的餐食组合。蔬菜与肉类产品一起更有可能出现在儿童最喜欢的餐食中。与男孩相比，两国的女孩对蔬菜的偏好表达更为明显。立陶宛的男孩对高度加工食品有相对更多的偏好，而丹麦的女孩对动物源产品有更明显的偏好。
从可持续饮食的角度来看，儿童在绘画中表达出对肉类和动物源产品等食物的偏好，可以被认为是相对积极的。然而，仍应鼓励年轻消费者增加水果和蔬菜的摄入。在制定促进年轻消费者健康和可持续饮食的干预措施和营销策略时，应考虑儿童食物偏好的文化和性别差异。
