Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Behavioural Gastronomy, Centre for Healthy Eating and Food Innovation, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands.
Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
Appetite. 2023 Oct 1;189:106993. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106993. Epub 2023 Aug 12.
Children who are food neophobic and/or picky eaters often refuse intake of especially fruits and vegetables, thereby narrowing their dietary variety and impairing the quality of their food intake. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether picky eating and food neophobia are related to bitter taste sensitivity (PROP taster status) and risk avoidance for distaste. A total of 367 children (201 girls; M age = 8.7 years, range: 4-15 years) participated in the study. They completed the vegetable neophobia subscale of the fruit and vegetable neophobia instrument (FVNI). A caregiver completed the child food rejection scale (CFRS), a parent-report measure of food neophobia and picky eating. Children's bitter taste sensitivity was measured with a PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) taste strip, and the children completed a modified Children's Gambling Task (Candy Gambling Game) to measure risk avoidance for distaste. In this task, children could select cards from a risky deck (chance of winning two tasty cherry-flavoured jelly beans, but also the risk of getting a distasteful soap-flavoured jelly bean) or a safe deck (chance of winning one tasty jelly bean or no jelly bean). The results show that picky eating and food neophobia (either parent- or self-reported) are not related to PROP taster status. However, children who self-reported higher levels of vegetable neophobia showed less risky choice behaviour in the Candy Gambling Game, although this relationship was not found with parent-reported food neophobia. We conclude that risk avoidance for distaste, but not taste function, is associated with children's self-reported food rejection tendencies. To broaden the food repertoire of children high in food neophobia, it might be useful to reduce the perceived risk of distaste, when introducing a novel food or meal.
儿童如果对食物有恐惧和/或挑食，通常会拒绝摄入某些食物，尤其是水果和蔬菜，从而导致他们的饮食种类变得狭窄，并影响他们的食物摄入质量。在这项预先注册的研究中，我们调查了挑食和食物恐惧是否与苦味敏感度（PROP 味觉状态）和对厌恶的风险回避有关。共有 367 名儿童（201 名女孩；平均年龄 8.7 岁，范围：4-15 岁）参与了这项研究。他们完成了果蔬恐惧仪器（FVNI）的蔬菜恐惧厌恶子量表。一位照顾者完成了儿童食物拒绝量表（CFRS），这是一种用于测量食物恐惧和挑食的父母报告工具。儿童的苦味敏感度通过 PROP（6-正丙基硫氧嘧啶）味觉测试条进行测量，儿童还完成了改良的儿童赌博任务（糖果赌博游戏），以衡量对厌恶的风险回避。在这个任务中，孩子们可以从一个有风险的牌组（赢得两个美味樱桃味软糖的机会，但也有得到一个讨厌肥皂味软糖的风险）或一个安全的牌组（赢得一个美味软糖或没有软糖的机会）中选择卡片。结果表明，挑食和食物恐惧（无论是父母报告还是自我报告）与 PROP 味觉状态无关。然而，自我报告的蔬菜恐惧程度较高的儿童在糖果赌博游戏中表现出较少的风险选择行为，尽管父母报告的食物恐惧没有发现这种关系。我们的结论是，对厌恶的风险回避，而不是味觉功能，与儿童自我报告的食物拒绝倾向有关。为了拓宽对食物恐惧较高的儿童的食物种类，在引入新的食物或餐点时，减少对厌恶的感知风险可能会有所帮助。
