Bernardino Melvin, Sison Nicole Kate Diaz, Bruce Jeanne Carla, Tiribelli Claudio, Rosso Natalia
MASLD UNIT, Fondazione Italiana Fegato, 34149 Trieste, Italy.
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34100 Trieste, Italy.
Nutrients. 2024 Nov 25;16(23):4035. doi: 10.3390/nu16234035.
Numerous traditional and innovative approaches have been employed to understand and evaluate children's food preferences and food and nutrition knowledge, recognizing their essential role in shaping good nutrition. Drawing as a projective technique allows children to express their unconscious thoughts and preferences through visual representation, distinguishing it from other methods by providing an insight into their inner feelings and perceptions that may not be easily articulated through verbal techniques. The main goals of the study are to use drawing as a projective technique to gain insights into children's food preferences, and to examine the children's current nutrition knowledge and dietary perceptions.
This study involved school-aged children from four public schools in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, who met the inclusion criteria and provided parental consent and the children's permission. Data collection included (a) questionnaires to measure food group and food frequency knowledge, the children's opinions on food healthiness and likability, and (b) a drawing activity as a projective technique. The questionnaire scores and the specific foods on the children's drawings were entered into an electronic worksheet and analyzed quantitatively.
The majority of Filipino school-aged children have a low (50%) to average (43%) level of food group knowledge and an average (62%) to low (32%) level of food frequency knowledge. The children can identify the healthiness of the food, but they express a liking for both healthy and unhealthy options. The children's drawings showed a low preference for Glow food groups, including fruits and vegetables (47%), as compared to Grow foods (94%), Beverages (89%), and Go foods (85%) groups. "Rice and Egg", the most paired items, indicated a preference among Filipino children. Gender-based analysis showed girls favored "Ice Cream", "Bread", "Apple", and "Oranges" more than boys, but there were no significant gender differences found in Grow food group preferences.
Children's drawings are an effective, valuable complementary tool for understanding children's food preferences, displaying the value of creative methods in gaining unique insights. The results highlight specific gaps in knowledge, such as the need for a better understanding of food groups and the importance of fruits and vegetables among children. Addressing these gaps in educational programs could enhance children's food knowledge and encourage healthier dietary choices. Nutrition education programs might use interactive activities focused on food groups and emphasize the benefits of fruits and vegetables to promote better dietary habits for the improvement of children's long-term health outcomes.
为理解和评估儿童的食物偏好以及食物与营养知识，人们采用了众多传统和创新方法，因为这些因素在塑造良好营养方面发挥着重要作用。绘画作为一种投射技术，能让儿童通过视觉呈现来表达其潜意识中的想法和偏好，它与其他方法的区别在于，能洞察儿童内心那些可能难以通过言语技巧清晰表达的感受和认知。本研究的主要目标是运用绘画这种投射技术来深入了解儿童的食物偏好，并考察儿童当前的营养知识和饮食观念。
本研究涉及菲律宾新怡诗夏省圣何塞市四所公立学校的学龄儿童，这些儿童符合纳入标准并获得了家长同意及儿童本人许可。数据收集包括：（a）用于测量食物类别和食物频率知识、儿童对食物健康性和喜爱程度看法的问卷；（b）作为投射技术的绘画活动。问卷得分以及儿童绘画中出现的特定食物被录入电子工作表并进行定量分析。
大多数菲律宾学龄儿童的食物类别知识水平较低（50%）至中等（43%），食物频率知识水平中等（62%）至较低（32%）。儿童能够识别食物的健康性，但他们对健康和不健康的食物都表现出喜爱。与“成长食物”组（94%）、“饮料”组（89%）和“能量食物”组（85%）相比，儿童绘画显示对“活力食物”组（包括水果和蔬菜，占47%）的偏好较低。“米饭和鸡蛋”是最常出现的搭配项目，表明菲律宾儿童有此偏好。基于性别的分析显示，女孩比男孩更喜欢“冰淇淋”“面包”“苹果”和“橙子”，但在“成长食物”组偏好方面未发现显著性别差异。
儿童绘画是理解儿童食物偏好的一种有效且有价值的补充工具，展示了创造性方法在获取独特见解方面的价值。研究结果凸显了知识方面的特定差距，比如儿童需要更好地理解食物类别以及水果和蔬菜的重要性。在教育项目中弥补这些差距可以增强儿童的食物知识，并鼓励他们做出更健康的饮食选择。营养教育项目可以采用聚焦于食物类别的互动活动，并强调水果和蔬菜的益处，以促进更好的饮食习惯，改善儿童的长期健康状况。
