On Deviated Food Habit in Infancy Report

Abstract

1. The authoress discussed concepts concerning biased habit in taking food, and specified a concept of “food-discriminating child. ”Many cases of such children were surveyed and the following general features were established.2. Foodstuffs most frequently disliked include:(a) Something disliked or complained of by senior member of the family.(b) Vegetables, especially roots, of which a marked example is carrot. There occurs also relative discrimination against something, which would be acceptable in other forms, differently prepared.Hen's egg and meat are almost unanimously liked, while odorant, bitter-tasting or burningirritative stuffs are expressively disliked, 3. Regarding personal conditions it was revealed that-(a) Of all “food discriminating children” 75% were unable to take the specified foodstuff despite their own voluntary attempt with determination.(b) There was no difference between boys and girls.(c) No definite relation between food discrimieation and abnormal constitution was recognized.(d) As to the first appearance of the food-discrimination, 29.5% showed the bias from the beginning, while 56.7% seemed to have fallen in the habit by frustration due to the arrival of a baby in the family.4. Regarding social environment in the family. -(a) The combination of an aged mother and a male child was found more effective in developing food discrimination than a young mother and a male child.(b) Food discriminating children are most frequent in families without earning occupation, while rather rare in laborer's families.(c) Food disciplination in the family was found lacking for more than half of male sole children.(d) Mother's effort of correcting the habit of food dicriminating children was by no means strong nor suitably planned.(e) Children disliking raw-fish slice (Sashimi) or fruit were most frequently distributed in wage-earner's families.5. Gradual reduction of food discrimination with growth was studied in carrot. This vegetable was disliked by 64.9% of infants, but only 4.1% of college girls. Majority of adults showed inclination to irritative stuffs, although they were definitely disliked by infants.6. Based on the above summarized result, the authoress enumerated key points in designing control measures against the food discrimination habit.