Children’s Willingness to Try New Foods: Associations With Diet Quality and Body Mass Index

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To examine how children's willingness to try new foods (WTNF) is related to diet quality and body mass index. Methods Participants included children (n = 402), ages 3–5 y, recruited from childcare centers participating in baseline assessment of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate strategies to promote the development of healthy eating behaviors. Children's intake of fruit, vegetables, sweets, and salty snacks was measured through a short food frequency questionnaire administered to parents and a diet quality score (DQS) was generated. Children's height and weight were measured, and body mass index z-scores (BMIz) was calculate using CDC criteria. Children's WTNF was assessed by offering 6 novel and 3 familiar foods during a food tasting activity administered in the childcare center. Poisson regressions were used to examine the association between children's WTNF (dichotomized as high: tried ≥ 3 novel foods vs. low: tried < 3 novel foods) and children's weekly intake of each food group. An ordinal regression was used to examine the association between children's WTNF and DQS. Linear regressions were used to examine the association between children's WTNF and BMIz. All analyses were adjusted for child sex, age, race, and household income, parent BMI was also adjusted in models including child BMI. In all models, standard errors were adjusted for clustering within childcare centers, the unit of randomization. Results Children who demonstrated high WTNF consumed 1.24 (95% CI: 1.11–1.38) times more servings of vegetables per week, and had a 1.53 (95% CI: 1.03–2.26) greater odds of having a higher diet quality score compared to children who demonstrated low WTNF. Children's WTNF was not significantly associated with children's intake of fruits, salty snacks, or sweets, or related to their BMIz. Conclusions Diet quality is compromised by children's lower WTNF. Future studies are needed to investigate strategies that promote children's WTNF such as vegetables, and examine whether the relation between low willingness to try new foods and poor diet quality influences child weight outcomes prospectively across childhood. Funding Sources National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.