Abstract
Background: Picky eating is quite common among preschoolers, which may lead to imbalanced diet. Picky eating behavior among preschoolers was found associated with feeding style. With the complex family structure of 2-career parents in Hong Kong and unique authoritarian Chinese feeding style, this study aimed to explore the differences in feeding practices among different preschoolers’ feeding persons and to investigate if preschoolers’ picky eating showed differences if they are fed by different feeding persons. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five Hong Kong kindergartens. Feeding persons of the preschoolers were asked to complete questionnaires with responses in different feeding styles and 2-day dietary records of the preschoolers. The dietary review was conducted to evaluate if the preschoolers were picky eaters if they missed any one of the five food groups or they did not consume sufficient amount of any food groups at their age. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests were analyzed to explore the chance of picky eating occurrence regarding the types of feeding persons and the feeding practices. Results: 240 preschoolers aged 2 to 7 were recruited. 57.5% preschoolers were found picky eating. There was no significant difference in preschoolers’ picky eating behaviors among different types of feeding person. Significantly more picky eaters were found fed by carers with lower education levels.
Highlights
Picky eating is a common feeding problem among preschoolers which may lead to poor diet and result on poor growth and development
When the children are found to refuse the intake of some food groups [3], especially vegetables, picky eating, selective eating or choosy eating were frequently described in these eating problems
There was no statistical association between picky eating in preschoolers and their TVwatching during meal time, the results showed that more preschoolers were picky eaters if they were allowed to watch TV during meals than those preschoolers who were not allowed to watch TV during meal time (p > 0.05)
Summary
Picky eating is a common feeding problem among preschoolers which may lead to poor diet and result on poor growth and development. Picky eating sometimes is used when the children are described as having strong food preferences [4,5]. According to a local survey conducted in Hong Kong with 7,057 kindergartners aged 2 to 7, more than 40% of parents indicated that their children had picky eating [8]. With the complex family structure of 2-career parents in Hong Kong and unique authoritarian Chinese feeding style, this study aimed to explore the differences in feeding practices among different preschoolers’ feeding persons and to investigate if preschoolers’ picky eating showed differences if they are fed by different feeding persons
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