NutriAct-Competence Cluster Nutrition Research, Berlin-Potsdam, Germany.
Department of Psychology, Counseling Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
Nutrients. 2023 Mar 1;15(5):1248. doi: 10.3390/nu15051248.
Poor dietary quality is a major cause of morbidity, making the promotion of healthy eating a societal priority. Older adults are a critical target group for promoting healthy eating to enable healthy aging. One factor suggested to promote healthy eating is the willingness to try unfamiliar foods, referred to as food neophilia. This two-wave longitudinal study explored the stability of food neophilia and dietary quality and their prospective relationship over three years, analyzing self-reported data from = 960 older adults ( = 63.4, range = 50-84) participating in the NutriAct Family Study (NFS) in a cross-lagged panel design. Dietary quality was rated using the NutriAct diet score, based on the current evidence for chronic disease prevention. Food neophilia was measured using the Variety Seeking Tendency Scale. The analyses revealed high a longitudinal stability of both constructs and a small positive cross-sectional correlation between them. Food neophilia had no prospective effect on dietary quality, whereas a very small positive prospective effect of dietary quality on food neophilia was found. Our findings give initial insights into the positive relation of food neophilia and a health-promoting diet in aging and underscore the need for more in-depth research, e.g., on the constructs' developmental trajectories and potential critical windows of opportunity for promoting food neophilia.
较差的饮食质量是导致发病的一个主要原因，因此促进健康饮食成为了社会的首要任务。老年人是促进健康饮食以实现健康老龄化的关键目标群体。有一个因素被认为可以促进健康饮食，即尝试不熟悉食物的意愿，被称为食物新奇感。本项两波纵向研究旨在探讨食物新奇感和饮食质量的稳定性及其在三年内的前瞻性关系，分析了参与 NutriAct 家庭研究（NFS）的 960 名年龄较大的成年人（ = 63.4，范围为 50-84 岁）的自我报告数据，采用交叉滞后面板设计。饮食质量使用基于慢性病预防当前证据的 NutriAct 饮食评分进行评估。食物新奇感使用多样性寻求倾向量表进行测量。分析结果显示，这两个构念具有较高的纵向稳定性，并且它们之间存在很小的横断面相关性。食物新奇感对饮食质量没有前瞻性影响，而饮食质量对食物新奇感则有很小的正向前瞻性影响。我们的研究结果初步揭示了食物新奇感与老龄化过程中促进健康饮食之间的积极关系，并强调需要进一步深入研究，例如研究这些构念的发展轨迹和促进食物新奇感的潜在关键机会窗口。
