Abstract
BackgroundDefinitions and assessment methods of fussy/picky eating are heterogeneous and remain unclear.We aimed to identify an eating behavior profile reflecting fussy/picky eating in children and to describe characteristics of fussy eaters.MethodsEating behavior was assessed with the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) in 4914 4-year olds in a population-based birth cohort study. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify eating behavior profiles based on CEBQ subscales.Results and discussionWe found a “fussy” eating behavior profile (5.6% of children) characterized by high food fussiness, slowness in eating, and satiety responsiveness in combination with low enjoyment of food and food responsiveness. Fussy eaters were more often from families with low household income than non-fussy eaters (42% vs. 31.8% respectively; Χ 2 (1) = 9.97, p < .01). When they were 14 months old, fussy eaters had a lower intake of vegetables (t [3008] = 2.42, p < .05) and fish (t [169.77] = 2.40, p < .05) but higher intake of savory snacks (t [153.69] = -2.03, p < .05) and sweets (t [3008] = -2.30, p < .05) compared to non-fussy eaters. Also, fussy eaters were more likely to be underweight at 4 years of age (19.3%) than non-fussy eaters (12.3%; Χ 2 (1) = 7.71, p < .01).ConclusionsA distinct fussy eating behavior profile was identified by LPA, which was related to family and child characteristics, food intake, and BMI. This behavior profile might be used in future research and the development of interventions.
Highlights
Definitions and assessment methods of fussy/picky eating are heterogeneous and remain unclear
A distinct fussy eating behavior profile was identified by Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), which was related to family and child characteristics, food intake, and Body Mass Index (BMI)
Using a latent profile approach to identify eating behavior profiles based on the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) [14] in 4 year-olds, we found a distinct fussy eating behavior profile characterized by a pattern of low scores on the food approach scales and high scores on the food avoidance scales
Summary
Definitions and assessment methods of fussy/picky eating are heterogeneous and remain unclear. One of the methods to assess fussy/picky eating applied by previous studies is to ask mothers whether or not their child is a fussy or picky eater, for example by indicating on a single 5-point scale whether the child is ‘never’ to ‘always’ a picky eater [7,8] or whether their child is a very picky eater, a somewhat picky eater or not a picky eater [3]. Another method classifies children as “picky eaters” if mothers indicated that they always or often displayed difficult eating behavior as assessed by three items Some studies have combined items from different questionnaires to assess picky eating on a continuous scale and defined a “picky eater” group based on the specific behaviors being sometimes or always present [16,17]
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