Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the frequency of major food intake in toddlers with different severities of food neophobia and explore associations between food neophobia and the consumption of vegetables, fruit, snacks, and sugary sweetened beverages (SSBs) MethodThis cross-sectional study included 747 toddler-caregiver dyads. Caregivers completed the questionnaire, which include the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS), food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and questions regarding their toddlers’ food refusals and reasons for refusal. ResultsThe mean CFNS score of the toddlers was 21.49 ± 8.10, and the proportion of children with a high level of food neophobia was 27.4% in the overall sample. Children with high-level food neophobia consumed vegetables and fruits less frequently and thus had lower dietary diversity scores, while having a higher intake of snacks and SSBs. Leafy and flowering vegetables, meat and poultry, and cucurbitaceous vegetables were the top three rejected foods among high food neophobia toddlers. Such refusals might be due to the odor and taste, difficulty to chew, and texture of these foods. ConclusionEarly intervention is needed to address the high prevalence of food neophobia and thus improve Chinese children’s dietary quality.
Published Version
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