Children's Liking Research Articles

EFFECT OF INCREASED FRUIT AND FAT CONTENT IN AN ACIDIFIED MILK PRODUCT ON PREFERENCE, LIKING AND WANTING IN CHILDREN

ABSTRACTNew strategies for changing children's liking in a more healthy direction are needed. Modulating food products by masking techniques have shown to convert dislikes into likes. In this study, children's (n = 204, 9–14 years) perception of sourness, preferences, liking and wanting for acidified milk products (AMP) with variation in fat (0.5% versus 3.5%) and fruit content (5–20%) were investigated. Multiple ranking and PARAllel FACtor analysis were used to evaluate ranking and rating data, respectively. The results show that high‐fat AMP is preferred at low fruit content, whereas fat content has no influence on liking at high fruit contents. Children like and want AMPs with 15–20% fruit more than AMPs with 5–10% fruit. Segments of children rank and rate the AMPs significantly different. Finally, a high correlation between liking and wanting is observed.These results give the food industry an option to produce new healthy food products to children without loss in children's liking.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSFrom a health perspective, the effects of increasing fruit content in acidified milk product on children's hedonic perceptions are very important. There is a serious need for shaping children's dietary habits in a more healthy direction to decrease the negative development in childhood obesity. These results provide knowledge about some of the main factors driving children's food choice in both the eating and the purchase situations. Knowledge about children's drivers toward healthy foods provides important information in product development of high fruit products. Moreover, the results are useful for researchers, producers, manufacturers and health professionals as a first step to design public health policies and consumer education strategies. The various methodologies presented in the paper can also be implemented in the study of children's liking and wanting for other foods.

A cafeteria-based tasting program increased liking of fruits and vegetables by lower, middle and upper elementary school-age children

This study aimed to increase 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade children's liking for fruits and vegetables by offering repeated opportunities to taste selected items. Tastes of four fruits or four vegetables were offered to children (51% boys; 32% 1st graders and 34% 3rd graders) on alternate weeks for 8 weeks. Two-week follow-up tastings occurred 4 months and 10 months post-intervention. Children who began the program disliking the targeted fruits and vegetables improved liking for all items after 8 weeks and maintained higher scores at both follow-up assessments. Grade and gender differences in liking were observed but were not consistent at each time point.

A Cafeteria Based Tasting Program Increased Liking of Fruits and Vegetables by Lower, Middle and Upper Elementary School‐age Children

This study aimed to increase children's liking for fruits and vegetables by offering repeated opportunities to taste less liked items at lunch in the school cafeteria. A total of 379 first, third, and fifth grade students (51% boys; 32% first graders and 32% third graders) attending low-income elementary schools in southeastern Louisiana participated. Children were given a taste of four vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, peas, tomatoes) or four fruits (apricots, cantaloupe, peaches, pears) on a rotating schedule for 8 weeks and asked to self-report their liking for each item on a questionnaire. Two additional follow-up tastings (2 weeks each) were offered at 4 months and 10 months after the 8-week intervention. Liking scores for all 8 items tasted were improved at the end of the 8-week intervention and were maintained at the later two follow-up assessments. An average of 5 tastes of vegetables and 2 tastes of fruits were required to observe a change in liking scores. At the end of the intervention, first graders liked carrots and the four fruits better than third and fifth graders. No differences were observed for liking of bell peppers, peas and tomatoes between grades. Repeated taste exposure to less liked fruits and vegetables is a promising strategy to promote liking of these items by elementary school-age children. Funding: USDA grant #2009-35200-05287. Grant Funding Source: USDA

Liking Violence and Action: An Examination of Gender Differences in Children's Processing of Animated Content

It is widely assumed that children like violence in cartoons, but this assumption has not been supported in existing studies that show nonviolent programs are liked just as much or more than violent programs. The present experiment extended enjoyment of media violence research by testing whether violence and action (independently manipulated) influenced children's liking of slapstick cartoons. We also proposed a path model to test potential indirect effects of violence and action on liking. Using animation software, four versions of a slapstick cartoon were created that varied in terms of violence (present, absent) and action (high, low). A total of 128 elementary school children watched one of the four versions of the program. Violence had no direct effect on the liking of the cartoon, but did indirectly decrease liking for males by decreasing boys' wishful identification with the anthropomorphized characters. Action increased liking for males but not for females.

Characteristics of Family Mealtimes Affecting Children's Vegetable Consumption and Liking

Research has documented an association between family mealtimes and higher dietary quality in school-aged children and adolescents. However, there is little understanding of the specific characteristics of mealtimes that are beneficial and a lack of research with preschool-aged children. This cross-sectional study conducted in the United Kingdom in 2008 examined associations between mealtime characteristics and preschoolers' vegetable consumption and liking. Four hundred and thirty-four primary caregivers of children aged 2 to 5 years reported on children's vegetable intake and liking and completed a questionnaire on frequency of family meals, food preparation, and the social and environmental context of family mealtimes. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses assessed mealtime variables and children's vegetable intake and liking. Multiple regression analysis revealed children's vegetable consumption was predicted by eating approximately the same food as their parents (β=.14; P≤0.01), using ready-made sauces (β=−.12; P≤0.05), and cooking from scratch (β=.11; P≤0.05), accounting for 21% of the variance (with covariates). Children's liking for vegetables was predicted by eating approximately the same food as their parents (β=.15; P≤0.01) and use of preprepared dishes (β=−.15; P≤0.01), accounting for 8% of the variance (with covariates). Frequency of family mealtimes was unrelated to children's vegetable consumption or liking in this sample. This contrasts with findings in older children and adolescents, where frequency of family mealtimes is related to dietary quality and intake. In preschool-aged children, it seems emphasis should be placed on encouraging parents to provide home-cooked meals that mirror those eaten by the adults in the family to improve vegetable intake.

Using Brand Characters to Promote Young Children's Liking of and Purchase Requests for Fruit

The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether brand characters can enhance children's liking of and purchase request intent for fruit compared to candy. The authors assigned 216 preschool students between the ages of 4 and 6 years to 9 experimental conditions in which they were presented with a healthy snack (chopped bananas) and an unhealthy snack (banana candy). The packages of these snacks portrayed a familiar character (i.e., Dora from Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob from SpongeBob SquarePants), an unfamiliar character, or no character (control group). The authors’ results showed that brand characters can increase children's liking of and purchase request intent for fruit up to a level similar to candy. However, the effects on liking and purchase request intent did not differ between familiar and unfamiliar characters. These results may be helpful for future marketing campaigns to promote children's consumption of healthy foods.

Repeated taste exposure increases liking for vegetables by low-income elementary school children

Children's food preferences play a major role in their food choices and consumption. The objective of the present study was to examine if repeated tastings of selected vegetables in a school setting increased children's liking of these items. A total of 360 fourth- and fifth-grade students attending four low-income, public elementary schools in southeastern Louisiana volunteered to participate. During the spring of 2008, children were offered a taste of carrots, peas, tomatoes, and bell peppers once a week for 10 weeks. At each tasting session children recorded whether they swallowed each of the vegetables, spit it into the napkin, or did not put it in their mouth and indicated their liking for each vegetable using a Likert-type response scale. Approximately one-half of the children tasted eight of ten times during the program (46.5% for those who began disliking and 68.5% for those who began liking the vegetables). Proc Glimmix analyses indicated that for children who began the program disliking the vegetables, repeated tasting improved liking scores for carrots, peas, and tomatoes; liking for bell peppers did not change. The number of children who reported liking or liking a lot for previously disliked vegetables was greater after eight or nine taste exposures. Repeated tasting of less-liked vegetables by children in a cafeteria-based setting is a strategy to promote liking of these items and is effective in approximately half of the participants.

Prediction of children's flavour preferences. Effect of age and stability in reported preferences

The present study investigated whether children were able to communicate stable flavour preferences and whether mothers’ ability to correctly identify their child's flavour preferences is related to the stability of their child's flavour preferences. On 2 consecutive days, 75 girls and 77 boys (3–10 years, mean age=7.1±2.3 years) carried out a preference ranking task for five ice-cream flavours: mint, coffee, chocolate and two variants of vanilla. Without input from their child, mothers ranked four of these flavours according to their own understanding of their child's flavour preferences. Spearman rank order correlations suggest that older aged children (5–10 years) have more stable flavour preferences than younger aged children (3–5 years) (p<0.05). Only 39% of mothers were able to correctly predict children's most preferred flavour, but significantly more parents (61%) were able to predict children's least preferred flavour (p<0.05). Mothers’ ability to correctly predict their children's least preferred flavour seemed to be facilitated by children's ability to communicate their least preferred flavours in a consistent manner (p<0.05). It is recommended to apply proper sensory methodologies with children rather than relying on mothers’ report when interested in children's likes. When interested in children's dislikes mothers’ report might be suitable.

Influence of shape and flavour on children's boredom of snack products.

BackgroundChildren's food choices are guided by their preferences. However, these preferences may change due to repeated exposure.MethodsThis study investigated children's (n = 242, 7–12 yrs-old) liking and wanting for snacks over 3 weeks of daily consumption. The snacks differed in size (small vs large) or flavour (sweet vs sweet-sour). Two conditions were designed: 1) a monotonous group in which children continuously consumed the same snack across the 3 weeks, and 2) a free choice group in which children were allowed to freely choose amongst 3 different flavours of the snack each day during 3 weeks.ResultsShape influenced long-term liking, i.e. small shaped snacks remained stable in liking over repeated consumption, whereas large shaped snacks with the same flavour decreased in liking. Mean wanting ratings for all snack products decreased over 3 weeks daily consumption. Flavour did not significantly influence liking and wanting over time. The ability to freely choose amongst different flavours tended to decrease children's liking (p < 0.1) and wanting (p < 0.001) for these products. Changes in liking rather than initial liking was the best predictor of snack choice during the intervention.ConclusionWanting rather than liking was most affected by repeated daily consumption of snack foods over three weeks. In order to increase the likelihood that children will repeatedly eat a food product, smaller sized healthy snacks are preferred to larger sized snacks. Future research should focus on stabilizing wanting over repeated consumption.

The influence of preparation method on children's liking for vegetables

This study aimed to investigate how different preparation methods influence children’s liking for vegetables. Participants were children from three age groups (4–6 years N = 46; 7–8 years N = 25; 11–12 years N = 23) and young adults (18–25 years N = 22). The participants tasted and ranked six preparation methods for carrots and French beans: mashed, steamed, boiled, stir-fried, grilled and deep-fried. In addition, the different vegetable preparations were rated on 15 attributes. All participants preferred boiled and steamed vegetables over the other preparations (p < 0.05). Boiled and stir-fried were the most familiar preparation methods for both vegetables. Vegetable liking was positively related to a uniform surface and the typical vegetable taste, and moderately related to crunchiness, whereas brown colouring and a granular texture were negatively related to vegetable liking. On the basis of these results, we conclude that children’s vegetable liking is influenced by a complex mixture of a uniform appearance, easily controllable textures and a typical, familiar vegetable taste.

Children's hedonic responses to the odors of alcoholic beverages: A window to emotions

The present study of 145 children and their mothers aimed to determine whether children's responses to the odors of alcoholic beverages were related to their mothers' reasons for drinking. Mothers completed a series of questionnaires to describe the emotional context in which they drink and whether they use alcohol to “escape” by changing their state of mind and reducing feelings of dysphoria. Children participated in two age-appropriate tasks that focused on the most salient psychological attribute of an odor, its perceived hedonic valence. To this aim, we determined children's liking, reaction times, and identification of individual odors including beer and whiskey in Task 1, and their preference for beer relative to odors that differed in hedonic valence in Task 2. The type of task and behavioral measure revealed different aspects of children's responses, to alcohol odors. In Task 1, verbally identifying an odor was a more difficult task than deciding whether they liked the odor. Although there were few group differences in liking for individual odors, children of Escape drinkers took significantly longer to determine whether they liked the odors. In Task 2, children of Escape drinkers preferred beer less often, particularly when it was compared with less pleasant odors. They preferred coffee to beer odors and, if their mothers did not smoke cigarettes, preferred the odors of cigarette smoke and pyridine to beer. These children experienced the odor of alcohol more frequently and in the context of mood disturbed mothers who felt guilty and worried about their drinking. Whether children who associate the odor of alcohol with such emotional contexts display a trajectory toward or against using alcohol to escape remains unknown.

Peer Perceptions and Liking of Children with Anxiety Disorders

Examined three aspects of childhood anxiety and peer liking: (1) whether or not children can detect anxiety in age-mates, (2) the degree to which peer-reported anxiety, self-reported anxiety, and presence of anxiety disorders are associated with peer liking, and (3) whether or not self-reported anxiety and presence of anxiety disorders are associated with peer liking after controlling for peer-reported anxiety. Peer raters (9.5-12.5 years) rated videotaped speech samples of target children with anxiety disorders (AD; 9.5-13 years) and target children without anxiety disorders (NAD; 9.5-13 years). Peer-rated anxiety was positively correlated with target children's self-reported anxiety and was higher among children with AD and children with social phobia (SP). Peer liking was inversely related to peer-reported anxiety and was lower for target children with SP. Target children with SP were liked less regardless of how anxious peers perceived them to be. Peer rater and target child demographics did not moderate the relationship between peer-rated anxiety and peer liking.

Do children's food preferences align with dietary recommendations?

To examine how Australian children's reported everyday food preferences reflect dietary recommendations, and the impact of sociodemographic factors on these associations. Cross-sectional survey. Three hundred and seventy-one parents of children aged 2-5 years, recruited from three socio-economic groups in two Australian cities, completed a survey on their child's liking for 176 foods and drinks on a 5-point Likert scale in addition to demographic descriptors. Preferences were compared with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Foods in the Extra Foods (non-nutritious foods) and Cereals groups of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating were highly liked (mean: 4.02 and 4.01, respectively), whilst foods in the Vegetables group were liked least (mean: 3.01). A large percentage of foods in the Cereals and Extra Foods groups were liked (64% and 56%, respectively) in contrast to the other food groups, especially Vegetables (7%). Children liked foods that were higher in sugar (r = 0.29, P < 0.0001) and more energy-dense (r = 0.34, P < 0.0001) but not those higher in saturated fat (r = 0.16, P = 0.03), total fat (r = 0.12, P = 0.12) or sodium (r = 0.10, P = 0.18). Sociodemographic variables (e.g. socio-economic status, parental education, children's age and sex) explained little of the variation in children's food preferences. Australian pre-school children's food preferences align with dietary guidelines in some respects, but not others. Interventions are needed to shift children's preferences away from non-nutritious foods that are high in energy density and sugar, and towards vegetables and fruits.

Predicting children's meal preferences: How much do parents know?

We investigate how accurate parents are at predicting their children's meal preferences and what cues best describe parents’ predictions. In Study 1, 30 parents predicted their children's school lunch choices from actual school menus. Parents’ prediction accuracy matched the stability of children's meal choices (assessed in a 4-month retest), implying that accuracy was as high as can be expected. Parents appeared to make their predictions by using specific knowledge about their child's likes and by projecting their own preferences. In Study 2, we asked 58 parents to predict their children's preferences for 30 randomly drawn school meals, and compared them to the children's actual preferences. Again, parents showed high prediction accuracy and predicted the lunches their children liked correctly more often than the disliked ones. Overall, parents’ accuracy in predicting their children's food preferences was as good as or better than found in previous preference prediction studies that used less ecologically relevant task domains.

The importance of exposure for healthy eating in childhood: a review

Children's food preferences are strongly associated with their consumption patterns. Identifying the factors that influence preferences is therefore crucial to the development of effective interventions to improve children's diets. Perhaps the most important determinant of a child's liking for a particular food is the extent to which it is familiar. Put simply, children like what they know and they eat what they like. From the very earliest age, children's experiences with food influence both preferences and intake, and research suggests that the earlier and broader that experience, the healthier the child's diet. Laboratory studies of children's food acceptance have indicated that repeated opportunities to taste unfamiliar foods results in increased liking and consumption. In order to investigate whether these results can be replicated in real-world situations, a series of naturalistic studies testing the efficacy of exposure-based interventions have been carried out. In a school-based study large increases in liking and intake of raw red pepper were seen in 5- to 7-year olds and two further studies, in which mothers used exposure techniques to increase children's acceptance of vegetables, achieved similar results. If future large-scale interventions prove to be successful, training could be offered to health professionals or directly to parents themselves.

How do women change osteoporosis-preventive behaviours in their children?

We have reported that a lifestyle intervention with mothers improved calcium intake and physical activity in both mothers and their children. In this study, we aimed to describe the strategies and approaches used by these mothers to improve their children's calcium intake and physical activity. A qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Population-based convenience sample. A subsample of 39 mothers were taken from a population-based random sample of 354 mothers who had participated in the original osteoporosis-prevention trial. Mothers described specific dietary changes they made to increase their children's calcium intake. They also described strategies for improving calcium intake and physical activity such as raising awareness of the importance of calcium; ensuring calcium-rich foods were accessible; assessing their children's likes and dislikes and working within these; role modelling; information provision; taking a balanced approach to attempting behaviour change; and encouraging activities that they could do with their children. Mothers emphasized the general importance of a balanced diet and lifestyle, rather than just focussing on lifestyle factors specific to osteoporosis prevention. Even without specific guidance, mothers are adept at developing strategies to apply to changing lifestyle behaviours in their children and identifying barriers to change. These results provide information, which could be incorporated into future interventions for lifestyle change in children and also provide further support for considering parent-focused approaches to this problem.

Increasing children's liking of vegetables through flavour–flavour learning

Positive flavour-flavour learning refers to a form of Pavlovian conditioning in which a neutral flavour is paired with an already preferred flavour. Due to this pairing one acquires an association between the neutral flavour and the liked flavour, resulting in a positive shift in liking and hence preference for the initially neutral flavour. In the present study, it was investigated whether a flavour-flavour learning procedure increases children's preference for a specific vegetable taste. Twenty one children were recruited and received six pairs of conditioning trials comprising the tasting of a sweetened vegetable and another unsweetened vegetable taste. At test the children had to evaluate the tastes unsweetened. Results show an increase in preference for the previously sweetened vegetable taste. It is concluded that flavour-flavour learning may be beneficial in increasing children's liking and acceptance of vegetables.

Using flavour–flavour learning to increase children's liking of vegetables

Using flavour–flavour learning to increase children's liking of vegetables

Children's Liking of Landscape Paintings as a Function of Their Perceptions of Prospect, Refuge, and Hazard

Prospect-refuge theorywas used to study children's aesthetic responses to landscape paintings. Sixty-seven children between the ages of 8 and 15 years reported their liking for 28 landscape paintings and their perceptions of the degree of prospect, refuge, and hazard in those paintings. Consistent with expectations, children were able to express systematic preferences and judgments of degrees of prospect, refuge, and hazard. Liking was significantly related to perceptions of prospect, to interactions between prospect and refuge, and to interactions between prospect and hazard. Contrary to expectations, age did not moderate the effects of prospect, refuge, and hazard perceptions on liking and boys, but not girls, actually preferred pictures that they perceived to be more hazardous than other pictures. Results are discussed in terms of consistency with previous results and with Darwinian explanations for aesthetic feelings.

Empathy, group norms and children's ethnic attitudes

Two minimal group studies ( Ns = 150, 123) examined the impact of emotional empathy on the ethnic attitudes of 5 to 12-year old white Anglo-Australian children. Study 1 evaluated the relationship between empathy and attitudes towards a same (Anglo-Australian) versus different ethnicity (Pacific Islander) outgroup. A significant empathy × outgroup ethnicity interaction revealed that empathy was unrelated to the children's liking for the same ethnicity outgroup, but that liking for the different ethnicity outgroup increased as empathy increased. Study 2 examined the influence of empathy on attitudes towards the different ethnicity outgroup when the ingroup had a norm of inclusion versus exclusion. A significant empathy × group norm interaction revealed that empathy was unrelated to liking when the ingroup had a norm of exclusion, but that liking for the different ethnicity outgroup increased when the ingroup had a norm of inclusion. Implications of the findings for promoting children's positive attitudes to ethnic minority groups are discussed.