13 - Food neophobia in children and its relationships with parental feeding practices/style

Abstract

This chapter aims at examining the question of food neophobia in healthy children up to the end of school age, excluding adolescents. Firstly, the definition of food neophobia in children is clarified, as well as its partial overlap with the notion of fussiness/pickiness; then the association between food neophobia and children’s diet quality and weight status is described. The second part describes the internal influence on food neophobia, more precisely by depicting the development of neophobia in children as a function of individual forces such as the affective and cognitive development, as well as temperament. The third part examines the psychosocial influences on food neophobia, focusing on how they may alter the typical development of neophobia, looking at the influence of parents and peers. The fourth part describes strategies that can be useful to overcome neophobic reactions in children, based on food properties modifications and modifications of the psychosocial context. Finally, directions for future studies are indicated.