Schultz Celeste M, Koenig Mary Dawn, Danford Cynthia A
Department of Human Development Nursing Science, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Department of Nursing Research and Innovation, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Apr 10;17(8):1313. doi: 10.3390/nu17081313.
: Little is known about preschool-age children's food concepts among diverse populations. Grounded in the Theory of Mind and Naïve Biology, the primary aim of this study was to describe Black and Hispanic preschool-age children's food concepts. A secondary aim was to determine the feasibility of collecting data from preschool-age children via a video conferencing platform. : Preliminary qualitative descriptive study. A purposive sample of nine 4- to 6-year-old children (x¯ age = 4.9; Black, n = 7; Hispanic, n = 2), mostly female (n = 7) participated. Children generated two : foods they think of, and foods they eat, reported mouthfeel of 16 foods, and performed a with rationale. : All children were able to use the video conference platform. Foods that Black and Hispanic children frequently listed as (x¯ = 6.75) included chicken, rice, carrots, and apples; frequently listed as foods (x¯ = 8.33) included pancakes and grapes. Black and Hispanic children used various lexicon such as warm, soft, crunchy, and "ouchy" to describe mouthfeel. All preschool-age children sorted foods into piles (range 4-20 piles). Younger children used discrete labels to categorize foods and created many piles while older children used broader labels and created fewer piles. : This is the first study to add to the literature about Black and Hispanic preschool-age children's food concepts before receiving formal education about nutrition. Additionally, we highlight the novel and successful use of ethnographic techniques via internet video conferencing. Subtle differences in their experiential knowledge about food reflect culturally salient qualities that are critical to consider when developing interventions to promote healthy eating behavior.
对于不同人群中学龄前儿童的食物概念，我们了解甚少。基于心理理论和朴素生物学理论，本研究的主要目的是描述黑人和西班牙裔学龄前儿童的食物概念。次要目的是确定通过视频会议平台收集学龄前儿童数据的可行性。：初步定性描述性研究。选取了9名4至6岁儿童作为有目的的样本（平均年龄 = 4.9岁；黑人，n = 7；西班牙裔，n = 2），大多数为女性（n = 7）参与研究。孩子们列举了两种：他们想到的食物和他们吃的食物，报告了16种食物的口感，并给出了分类的理由。：所有儿童都能够使用视频会议平台。黑人和西班牙裔儿童经常列为“想到的食物”（平均 = 6.75）包括鸡肉、米饭、胡萝卜和苹果；经常列为“吃的食物”（平均 = 8.33）包括煎饼和葡萄。黑人和西班牙裔儿童使用各种词汇，如温暖、柔软、酥脆和“刺痛”来描述口感。所有学龄前儿童将食物分成几堆（范围为4至20堆）。年幼的孩子使用离散的标签对食物进行分类，分成很多堆，而年长的孩子使用更宽泛的标签，分成的堆较少。：这是第一项在关于黑人和西班牙裔学龄前儿童在接受营养正规教育之前的食物概念的文献中有所补充的研究。此外，我们强调了通过互联网视频会议新颖且成功地运用了人种学技术。他们在食物体验知识上的细微差异反映了文化上显著的特质，这在制定促进健康饮食行为的干预措施时是需要重点考虑的。
