Gender differences in factors affecting rejection of food in healthy young Swedish adults

Emotions for a novel health food: Is there an impact bias and can it be reduced?

Eating decisions may be influenced by an impact bias, or the tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of emotions for future events or outcomes. In this study, we tested the impact bias, among college students, for eating a novel health food - kale chips. We also examined how an emotion adaptation recall exercise influenced emotions and eating behavior. After reading about the health benefits of kale, college students (N = 80) reported their anticipated emotions (e.g., how intensely they would experience each emotion) for eating kale chips. Following a control (n = 40) or emotion adaptation (n = 40) writing exercise, they were asked to eat these chips. They then reported their experienced emotions (e.g., how intensely they experienced each emotion) as well as their intentions to eat kale in the future. Findings indicated that participants showed a negative impact bias in which they anticipated more intense negative emotions than they experienced. However, they showed an opposite effect for positive emotions, anticipating lower positive emotion than they experienced. Relative to the control group, those who did an emotion adaptation exercise experienced lower levels of disgust after eating kale chips and reported higher intentions to eat them in the future. Subsequent analyses of consumption revealed that those in the emotion adaptation condition also ate more of the kale chips. Findings suggest that affective forecasting theory may be a useful framework through which to develop and test ideas about emotions and eating in the context of novel health foods.

Food neophilics' choice of an ethnic restaurant: The moderating role of authenticity

This study attempts to identify the salient factors affected by food neophilia and its interaction with demand authenticity in the choice of an ethnic restaurant. By undertaking a series of multivariate and univariate analyses between these two predictors and five key dining attributes: food quality, service quality, FLEs attitude, atmosphere, and price, it is revealed that restaurant customers consider different factors in their buying decision process, depending on individuals' food neophilia level, needs for authenticity, and demographic characteristics. The results show that authentic quality of food, authentic atmosphere, friendly and prompt service encounters are the most important factors. The findings further suggest that price sensitivity is higher in the market with a low to moderate need for authenticity. Cultural backgrounds, on the other hand, seem to influence how customers embrace roles and professional skills of the frontline staff rather than customer-employee relationship. Given the lack of research in examining food neophilia in the ethnic restaurant selection empirically, this study allows a better understanding of this market segment which contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of food consumption and preferences as well as offers useful insights for ethnic restaurant businesses.

A gender approach to wine innovation and organic wine preferences

The development of innovative products, such as novel wines, is rejected by certain consumers that value attributes that may conflict with innovation. This is the case of the organic production label. The present study examined the impact of gender on wine purchasing preferences for innovative and organic wines. The findings showed that price is the most important attribute for both men and women when buying wine. The results also revealed that women assign greater importance to the production system (organic/conventional) than men. The segmentation generated according to the level of wine neophobia revealed significant differences between men and women in the frequency of wine consumption and the socioeconomic variables considered (age, educational level and income). The level of wine neophobia was higher in women than in men, but, in both genders, it increased with age and decreased as income and educational level increased. Women’s lesser interest in innovative wines and their more positive attitude towards organic wines encourages the consideration of women as a segment in which tradition and naturalness related to wine should be specifically taking into account.

Food Neophobia, Odor and Taste Sensitivity, and Overall Flavor Perception in Food

Smell, which allows us to gather information about the hedonic value of an odor, is affected by many factors. This study aimed to assess the relationship among individual factors, odor sensitivity, and enjoyment, and to evaluate how overall flavor perception and liking in actual food samples are affected by odor sensitivity. A total of 749 subjects, from four different Italian regions, participated in the study. The olfactory capabilities test on four odors (anise, banana, mint, and pine), as well as PROP (6-n-prpyl-2-thiouracil) status and food neophobia were assessed. The subjects were clustered into three groups of odor sensitivity, based on the perceived intensity of anise. The liking and intensity of the overall flavor were evaluated for four chocolate puddings with increasing sweetness (C1, C2, C3, and C4). The individual variables significantly affected the perceived intensity and liking of the odors. Even if all of the odor sensitivity groups perceived the more intensely flavored samples as the C1 and C4 chocolate puddings, the high-sensitivity group scored the global flavor of all of the samples as more intense than the low-sensitivity group. The low-sensitive subjects evaluated the liking of the sweeter samples with higher scores than the moderate-sensitive subjects, whereas the high-sensitive subjects gave intermediate scores. In conclusion, odor sensitivity plays a pivotal role in the perception and liking of real food products; this has to be taken into account in the formulation of new products, suitable for particular categories with reduced olfactory abilities.

Consumer Attitudes towards Technological Innovation in a Traditional Food Product: The Case of Wine

Food innovation is crucial for food companies in order to produce healthier, safer, and more convenient foods. However, there is a segment of consumers reluctant to accept new foods. This attitude is even more important when those novelties are developed in products such as wine that have habitually relied on heritage and traditional production as their main competitive advantage. In this study, consumer attitudes toward innovation in the wine industry were evaluated by simultaneously considering product neophobia and process neophobia. Based upon a sample of 400 personal interviews with Spanish wine consumers, the results showed that these two aspects of neophobia were uncorrelated, meaning they are useful to measure different aspects of general food neophobia. Cluster analysis showed that four different segments of consumers exist, with different attitudes toward technological innovation in the wine industry. The consumer segment that shows the most positive attitudes toward wine innovation (product and process innovation) is that with the highest income and highest level of education. Moreover, greater involvement with the product (wine) results in lower product neophobia. Therefore, future studies should consider product involvement and exposure to cultural diversity as essential factors when evaluating food neophobia.

Olfaction and Aging: A Review of the Current State of Research and Future Directions

Olfaction, the sense of smell, is characterized by a notable age-dependency such that aging individuals are more likely to have poor olfactory abilities. These impairments are considered to be mostly irreversible and as having potentially profound effects on quality of life and food behavior, as well as constituting warning signs of mortality, cognitive dysfunction, and dementia. Here, we review the current state of research on aging and olfaction, focusing on five topics which we regard to be of particular relevance for the field: nutrition and health, cognition and dementia, mortality, environment and genetics, and training-based enhancement. Under each of these headlines, we provide a state-of-the-art overview and discuss gaps in our knowledge which might be filled by further research. Understanding how olfactory abilities are diminished in aging, and how they may be alleviated or recovered, involves a set of challenging tasks for researchers in the years to come.

Flavor Profiling by Consumers Segmented According to Product Involvement and Food Neophobia

The relationship between food-related individual characteristics and performance in sensory evaluation was investigated. The study focused on differences in discriminative ability and perceptual sensitivity according to levels of product involvement or food neophobia during the intensity rating of sensory attributes in consumer profiling. Consumers (N = 247) rated the intensity of attributes for seven flavored black tea drinks and completed the Food Neophobia Scale and the Personal Involvement Inventory measuring product involvement with the flavored black tea drink. In the higher product involvement (IH) group and the lower food neophobia (NL) group, the number of sensory attributes representing the sample effect and of subsets discriminating the samples were greater, and more total variance of the samples was explained. The higher the product involvement or the lower the food neophobia, the greater the differentiation in characterizing samples with more attributes in the intensity ratings. Interestingly, the high food neophobia (NH) group showed less active performance compared to the NL group during the sensory evaluation overall, but the NH group was more concerned about unfamiliar attributes and samples. The results implied that the positive attitude resulting from high product involvement and low food neophobia may induce more active behavior and better performance during the sensory evaluation.

The multidimensional nature of food neophobia

People vary in their willingness to try new foods. This variation, which is most frequently measured using the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS; Pliner & Hobden, 1992), has been interpreted as unidimensional. In four studies (N's = 210, 306, 160, and 161), we 1) demonstrate that food neophobia varies across meat and plant dimensions, 2) explore the validity of a measure of meat and plant neophobia, and 3) test whether these food neophobia dimensions predict decisions to eat a novel food item (i.e., a snack bar that contains insects). Mixed-effects model across the four studies indicated that the two dimensions differentially relate to a number of variables, including disgust sensitivity, animal empathy, and masculinity. Women scored higher on meat neophobia than men, but the sexes did not differ on plant neophobia. Only meat neophobia uniquely predicted eating a novel insect-based snack bar. Overall, these results extend knowledge regarding orientations toward novel foods.

Children overcoming picky eating (COPE) - A cluster randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Food neophobia limits dietary variety in children and adults. Interventions to alleviate the impact of neophobia on children's dietary variety have had varying success. The potential effectiveness of mindfulness, a process of bringing awareness to the present moment, has received little attention. This trial aimed to explore the effectiveness of two mindfulness exercises on novel food acceptance for children.

METHODS

A cluster-randomised controlled trial with three trial arms compared the impact of two mindfulness exercises (mindful breathing and mindful raisin-eating) and a non-mindful control task on anticipated liking and intake of a novel fruit. Seventy-one children aged 10-12 years engaged in one of the three tasks at school over five days and were offered a novel fruit at the end of the intervention. Children self-reported mindfulness, food neophobia and anxiety at baseline and follow-up.

RESULTS

Two mixed-effects models showed that, controlling for school effects and covariates (including mindfulness, food neophobia and anxiety), children in the mindful raisin-eating arm reported greater anticipated liking of a novel fruit and children in both mindfulness arms consumed greater amounts of a novel fruit than children in the control arm. Mixed-design ANOVAs indicated that mindfulness, food neophobia and anxiety did not change over time in each trial arm.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provide promising evidence for the potential effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in encouraging children to try new foods. The mechanisms underlying effectiveness remain unclear and further research, exploring long-term effects and the possibility to generalise these findings to other food groups such as vegetables, is needed.

The “Ick” Factor: An Unrecognized Affective Predictor of Physical Symptoms During Chemotherapy

Background

Patients undergoing chemotherapy experience a range of aversive symptoms. These symptoms vary across individuals and at least some of this variation can be predicted by psychological factors, such as distress. However, while psychological distress predicts some of the symptoms, it is limited in important ways.

Purpose

To (a) assess the viability of disgust—a discrete emotion that specifically evolved for health-related reasons—as a predictor of chemotherapy-related symptoms (particularly, taste- and smell-related changes) and (b) compare the predictive utility of disgust sensitivity and propensity against the most commonly used affective predictor, that is, psychological distress.

Methods

Patients with cancer (N = 63) about to initiate chemotherapy were recruited in a prospective observational study. Psychosocial predictor variables were assessed at baseline, and outcomes (i.e., physical symptoms, body mass index [BMI], and food-based sensory-processing changes) were assessed at both baseline and 6 week follow-up.

Results

Psychological distress did not predict any of the outcomes. Both disgust sensitivity (β = .53, p = .003) and propensity (β = −.56, p = .002) predicted greater food-based sensory-processing changes, while disgust sensitivity marginally predicted greater chemotherapy-related physical symptoms (β = .34, p = .060); neither of these two forms of disgust predicted BMI.

Conclusions

The study provides first evidence showing (a) associations between trait disgust and food sensory-processing changes that arise during chemotherapy and (b) disgust as being a more useful predictor of food- and digestion-related symptoms than psychological distress. In doing so, it opens new doors for better care to be provided to patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Children's Self-Reported Reasons for Accepting and Rejecting Foods

Children's eating behavior does not necessarily align with dietary recommendations, and there is a need for better understanding the factors underlying their food choices. The aim of this study was to investigate children's self-reported reasons for accepting and rejecting foods. A questionnaire was developed with reasons based on prior research and in-depth interviews. A set of various food stimuli covering different types was evaluated by 106 girls and 99 boys aged 10-13 years by checking all reasons that apply (CATA) for either accepting or rejecting them. Results showed gender differences among reasons for both food acceptance and rejection, but also in liking and willingness to re-taste the stimuli. The most common reason for food acceptance was good taste in boys and curiosity in girls; for food rejection they were bad taste, bad smell and dislike of appearance in boys and bad taste, bad smell, dislike of appearance and texture in girls. Overall, boys liked the food stimuli more than girls and were more willing to re-taste them. Future research should focus more on the role of sensory properties in both acceptance and rejection, and the potential of children's curiosity as a driver in tasting foods should be further explored.

Food neophobia and pickiness among children and associations with socioenvironmental and cognitive factors

Food neophobia and picky eating are common behaviors exhibited among children that may impact their nutritional health. Due to the limited data available regarding food neophobia and pickiness in Saudi Arabia, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of picky eating and food neophobia among Saudi children and to examine the association of socioenvironmental and cognitive factors with food neophobia and pickiness. The study included 216 healthy children with no known allergy, aged 3-7 years old, recruited from six schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was utilized to collect sociodemographic information from parents. Food neophobia and pickiness were evaluated using 2 separate scales. Socioenvironmental factors that may contribute to the development of food neophobia and pickiness were evaluated, such as breastfeeding duration and weaning practices, parental strategies, peer modeling, and social facilitation. Sensory sensitivity and disgust were also evaluated to assess the association with cognitive factors. Linear regression analysis with 95% confidence intervals was used to test the associations with the selected socioenvironmental and cognitive factors. The majority of children showed moderate to severe food neophobia and pickiness (98.6% and 89.8%, respectively). The socioenvironmental factors of peer modeling and selected parental strategies were found to have a significant association with food neophobia and pickiness. Assessed cognitive factors were found to be associated with food neophobia and pickiness. Future studies investigating causes of food neophobia and food pickiness among children are warranted.

A Proximal Perspective on Disgust

The functional basis of disgust in disease avoidance is widely accepted; however, there is disagreement over what disgust is. This is a significant problem, as basic questions about disgust require knowing if single/multiple forms/processes exist. We address this issue with a new model with one form of disgust generated by multiple processes: (a) pure disgust experienced during gastrointestinal illness; (b) somatosensory disgust elicited by specific cues that activate the pure disgust state; (c) anticipatory disgust elicited by associations between distance cues for somatosensory disgust and requiring threat evaluation; (d) simulated disgusts elicited by imagining somatosensory and anticipatory disgust and frequently involving other emotions. Different contamination processes interlink (a–d). The implications of our model for fundamental questions about disgust (e.g., emotion status; continuation into animals) are examined.

Validation of the revised Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-R) in the Italian context

Measuring individuals' level of food neophobia, i.e., the reluctance to eat novel food, is a critical task since it negatively affects diet variety and quality. Using structural equations models, the revised Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-R) was validated with a sample of 711 Italian adults. After deleting 4 items characterized by both low face validity and a suboptimal association with the other items, and after correcting statistically for the acquiescent response-set, the resulting 6-item, fully balanced FNS-R showed a good construct validity. Moreover, it showed the expected positive correlations with General Neophobia and with Disgust Sensitivity. Finally, it resulted invariant across participants' genders, age classes, and levels of education, and across methods of administration (paper-and-pencil and on-line). Strong points and possible developments of the study are discussed.

Sex-specific effects of perinatal dioxin exposure on eating behavior in 3-year-old Vietnamese children

Background

We previously reported that perinatal dioxin exposure increased autistic traits in children living in dioxin-contaminated areas of Vietnam. In the present study, we investigated the impact of dioxin exposure on children’s eating behavior, which is often altered in those with developmental disorders.

Methods

A total of 185 mother-and-child pairs previously enrolled in a birth cohort in dioxin-contaminated areas participated in this survey, conducted when the children reached 3 years of age. Perinatal dioxin exposure levels in the children were estimated using dioxin levels in maternal breast milk after birth. Mothers were interviewed using the Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the association between dioxin exposure and CEBQ scores, after controlling for covariates such as location, parity, maternal age, maternal education, maternal body mass index, family income, children’s gestational age at delivery, and children’s age at the time of the survey. A general linear model was used to analyze the effects of sex and dioxin exposure on CEBQ scores.

Results

There was no significant association between most dioxin congeners or toxic equivalencies of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (TEQ-PCDDs/Fs) and CEBQ scores in boys, although significant associations between some eating behavior sub-scores and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9-octachlorodibenzofuran were observed. In girls, there was a significant inverse association between levels of TEQ-PCDFs and enjoyment of food scores and between levels of TEQ-PCDFs and TEQ-PCDDs/Fs and desire to drink scores. Two pentachlorodibenzofuran congeners and 1,2,3,6,7,8-hexachlorodibenzofuran were associated with a decreased enjoyment of food score, and seven PCDF congeners were associated with a decreased desire to drink score. The adjusted mean enjoyment of food score was significantly lower in children of both sexes exposed to high levels of TEQ-PCDFs. There was, however, a significant interaction between sex and TEQ-PCDF exposure in their effect on desire to drink scores, especially in girls.

Conclusions

Perinatal exposure to dioxin can influence eating behavior in children and particularly in girls. A longer follow-up study would be required to assess whether emotional development that affects eating styles and behaviors is related to dioxin exposure.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12887-018-1171-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Influence of seasoning on vegetable selection, liking and intent to purchase

Low vegetable intake continues to be a health concern, and strategies to increase vegetable intake have resulted in only small increases. One strategy that has received less attention is the use of seasonings. This study's objective was to determine the impact of seasoning on vegetable selection, liking, and intent to purchase. We conducted a 3-week study in a public café on a university campus. Customers buying a main dish could select a vegetable side (seasoned [SS] or steamed [ST]) at no cost. Based on café data and power analysis (alpha 0.05, 80% power), 2 days per vegetable pair were conducted with carrot, broccoli, and green bean pairs randomized 3 days/week 1 and 3, with normal service week 2. Selection was greater for SS vs ST, n = 335 vs. 143 for all 3 vegetables combined; n = 97 vs 47 for carrots; n = 114 vs. 55 for broccoli; n = 124 vs. 41 for green beans (p < 0.001 Chi-Square). Liking responses were similar for SS vs ST and were high for all vegetables. Response distribution was not significantly different for SS vs ST vegetables when people were asked if they would purchase the vegetable that they selected. More customers chose the 'somewhat likely' and 'very likely' (n = 353) than the 'not likely' and 'definitely would not' (n = 121) purchase responses. Regression showed that people who did not often consume a vegetable with lunch while dining out were 1.59 times more likely to select the SS vegetables over the ST (p = 0.007). Given a choice, consumers were more likely to select a seasoned vegetable. With low vegetable consumption as a predictor of seasoned vegetable choice, offering seasoned vegetables may increase intake in those with poor vegetable intake in a café setting.

Food neophobia and its relation with olfaction

Food neophobia, that is the reluctance to try novel foods, is an attitude that dramatically affects human feeding behavior in many different aspects among which food preferences and food choices appear to be the most thoroughly considered. This attitude has an important evolutionary meaning since it protects the individual from ingesting potentially dangerous substances. On the other hand, it fosters an avoidance behavior that can extend even toward useful food elements. A strong link exists between food neophobia and both the variety in one person’s diet and previous exposures to different foods. In this review, the more recent findings about food neophobia will be concisely described. Given the suggested connection between the exposure to different foods and food neophobia, this review will focus on the relation between this attitude and human chemosensory abilities. Olfaction, in particular, is a sensory modality that has a central role in flavor perception and in food preference acquisition. Therefore, the latest evidences about its relation with food neophobia will be discussed along with the applied and cognitive implications.

The Impact Of Parental Feeding Practices On Their Children’s Appetitive Traits: A Study Among Children Aged 5-11 Years Old In Dubai Private Schools

This study explores associations between parental feeding practices and childrens appetitive traits, putting to test the hypotheses that a) parental “restriction” is associated with having a child with stronger food approach tendencies (food enjoyment (FE) and food over responsiveness (FR)), and b) parental pressure to eat is associated with having a child with food avoidance tendencies (satiety responsiveness (SR),slowness in eating (SE) and food fussiness(FF)).The participants from 55 nationalities, targeting 1083 parents of 5-to 11-year-old children from 7 private schools in Dubai, UAE, who completed self-reported questionnaires over the 2011-2012 school year. The questionnaire has been a tailored amalgamation of CEBQ and CFQ in order to measure the children’s appetitive traits and parental feeding practices, respectively. The findings of this quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional analysis confirmed the hypotheses in that “parental restriction” was positively associated with child food responsiveness (r, 0.183), and food enjoyment (r, 0.102). On the other hand, parental pressure to eat was positively associated with child satiety responsiveness (r,0.265), slowness (r, 0.253), and fussiness (r, 0.174) and negatively with food enjoyment (r, -0.214) and food responsiveness (r, - 0.142). To conclude, as far as the figures depict, the parents controlling their children’s food intake would seemingly a reverse impact on their eating behaviour in the short term.

Food neophobia, nanotechnology and satisfaction with life

This study investigates the relationship between food neophobia, satisfaction with life and food-related life, and acceptance of the use of nanotechnology in food production. Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 400 supermarket shoppers in southern Chile. The questionnaire measured knowledge of nanotechnology and willingness to purchase food products involving nanotechnology, and included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) and FNS (Food Neophobia Scale) scales. Using cluster analysis, four consumer types were distinguished with significant differences in their scores on the SWLS, SWFL and FNS. The types differed in their knowledge of nanotechnology, willingness to purchase foods involving nanotechnology, age, socioeconomic level and lifestyle. The least food-neophobic type had the highest levels of satisfaction with life and with food-related life and also had the highest acceptance of packaging and foods produced with nanotechnology. The results suggest that the degree of food neophobia is associated with satisfaction with life and with food-related life, as well as with the acceptance of products with nanotechnological applications.

Cross-sectional exploration of maternal reports of food neophobia and pickiness in preschooler-mother dyads

OBJECTIVE

To investigate cross-sectional associations of food neophobia and pickiness in preschoolers and in their mothers with regard also to food consumption, proposal of new foods, feeding, and weaning modes.

DESIGN

Matched child and maternal data collected by means of self-report questionnaires administered to mothers.

SETTING

Kindergartens of the City of Rome Municipality, Italy.

SUBJECTS

One hundred twenty-seven mother-child pairs. Children were aged from 2 to 6 years. All participants were normal weight or obese.

MEASURES OF OUTCOME

Mothers' and children's food neophobia and pickiness.

RESULTS

Pickiness and neophobia were related within both children's (r(o) = 0.528, p = 0.001) and mothers' (r(o) = 0.186, p = 0.037) samples. Mothers' and children's neophobia and pickiness were significantly although modestly associated (neophobia r(o) = 0.223, p = 0.012; pickiness r(o) = 0.311, p = 0.001). Overweight and obese children were significantly more neophobic (18.8 ± 6.4 vs 15.7 ± 7.6; p = 0.03) and picky (6.87 ± 2.2 vs 5.72 ± 2.7; p = 0.03) than normal-weight children.

CONCLUSIONS

Preschoolers' food neophobia and pickiness were correlated. Mothers and children displayed similarities in food neophobia, pickiness, and dietary habits. Genetics and environmental cues jointly contribute to shape preschoolers' attitudes toward familiar and unfamiliar foods. Hence, future longitudinal studies of larger samples are necessary to better define the role of genetics, parental feeding practices, and environmental characteristics in the development of food neophobia and pickiness.

Nutritional health, subjectivity and resistance: Women’s accounts of dietary practices

Food is related to health, both directly and symbolically, in complex ways. Also, social practices around food are highly gendered, and, in the context of family life, fall largely to mothers. This study examines mothers’ talk about nutritional health, and food, health and dietary practices in the context of everyday life, using a discursive analysis of the talk from focus group discussions. Findings show that discourses surrounding nutritional health offer women a variety of conflictual subjectivities. If they do not engage in ‘correct’ dietary practices, women are positioned as immoral, both as individuals and as mothers. Further, their ability to determine which foods are ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ is undermined through a distrust of ‘facts’ and scientific evidence, and they are rendered susceptible to exploitation through claims made for food as health promoting. Together, these areas of conflict perpetuate subjectivities of anxiety around dietary practices.The women seek to re-position themselves and overcome these contradictions by offering a variety of legitimations for their dietary practices. In doing so, they resist nutritional health messages and reveal how such messages can have unintended effects.

Does picky eating affect weight-for-length measurements in young children?

OBJECTIVES

Picky eating is a major source of parental concern, and children with picky eating habits are potentially at risk for nutritional deficits. This research aimed to determine whether picky eating is related to being underweight in young children.

METHODS

Participants included 34 children with picky eating behavior who were referred to the Pediatric Feeding and Nutrition Clinic for evaluation and 136 healthy controls.Weight and height measurements were obtained, and weight-to-length data were calculated for each child.

RESULTS

In all, 7 of 34 children (20.6%) in the picky eaters group and 9 of 136 children (6.6%) in the control group were underweight (P = .02). Underweight was found in 15 children (14.2%) at or under 36 months and in 1 child (1.6%) older than 36 months (P = .002).

CONCLUSIONS

Children with picky eating habits, especially those younger than 3 years of age, are at increased risk of being underweight.

Changes in dietary habits following temporal migration. The case of international students in Belgium

This paper reports findings from a cross-sectional survey carried out in April-May 2006 among international students enrolled at Ghent University in Belgium. The aim of the study was to assess their knowledge and attitudes related to nutrition, perceived changes in dietary habits, perceived barriers to healthy eating and the determinants of dietary changes since their arrival in Belgium. In total, 235 students from 60 countries participated. Following the reported dietary changes, which were factor-analyzed into "less energy-dense" foods, "more fruits and vegetables" and "less processed" foods, three clusters could be identified. Cluster 1 composed of students who increased their fruits, vegetables and fiber intake. Cluster 2, the largest, reported dietary changes overall and in particular towards less processed foods. Cluster 3 composed of students who changed in the main towards less energy-dense foods. Gender differences were observed in healthy dietary changes, particularly in males. Healthier choices were hindered by a perceived unavailability of healthy food products. Gender and availability of healthy foods should be taken into consideration when informing temporal migration populations, such as international students in this study, about the healthy food options available during their stay in a different cultural, food and dietary environment.

Gender Differences in Psychophysiological Responses to Disgust

Several studies have revealed that women report stronger feelings of disgust than men ( Gross & Levenson, 1995 ; Schienle, Schäfer, Stark, Walter, & Vaitl, 2005 ). However, the extent to which this gender difference also influences physiological disgust responses remains an open question. In Experiment 1, 54 female and 41 male participants were exposed to slides of different disgust-content. In Experiment 2, 47 women and 53 men watched two film clips showing hygiene-related or food-related disgust stimuli, respectively. Differences between males and females in reported and physiological disgust responses (heart rate, electrodermal activity, salivary cortisol, secretory immunoglobulin A) were tested by analysis of variance. Replicating previous studies, women reported stronger feelings of disgust than men across all disgust inductions. Additionally, in Study 1, women showed a higher increase in skin conductance level than men. In conclusion, gender moderates subjective responses to disgust, whereas physiological disgust responses are only marginally moderated by gender. Gender stereotypes as an explanation for the results are discussed.

Food neophobia and 'picky/fussy' eating in children: a review

Two factors have been shown to contribute to rejection or acceptance of fruits and vegetables: food neophobia and 'picky/fussy' eating. Food neophobia is generally regarded as the reluctance to eat, or the avoidance of, new foods. In contrast, 'picky/fussy' eaters are usually defined as children who consume an inadequate variety of foods through rejection of a substantial amount of foods that are familiar (as well as unfamiliar) to them. Through understanding the variables which influence the development or expression of these factors (including age, personality, gender, social influences and willingness to try foods) we can further understand the similarities and differences between the two. Due to the inter-relationship between 'picky/fussy' eating and food neophobia, some factors, such as pressure to eat, personality factors, parental practices or feeding styles and social influences, will have similar effects on both magnitude and duration of expression of these behaviours. On the other hand, these constructs may be differentially affected by factors such as age, tactile defensiveness, environment and culture. The effects of these variables are discussed within this review. Behavioural interventions, focusing on early life exposure, could be developed to attenuate food neophobia and 'picky/fussy' eating in children, so promoting the ready acceptance and independent choice of fruits and vegetables.

Comer ou não comer, eis a questão: diferenças de gênero na neofobia alimentar

A neofobia alimentar é um comportamento de cautela quanto à ingestão de alimentos desconhecidos. Homens e mulheres apresentam diferenças comportamentais, embora as pesquisas sobre a resposta neofóbica apontem controvérsias. Neste estudo, 266 indivíduos realizaram uma tarefa de escolha entre dois alimentos, um familiar e outro não-familiar, e responderam a uma escala de neofobia, a fim de investigar as diferenças de gênero. Os resultados indicaram que as mulheres são mais neofóbicas que os homens, o que corrobora os dados anteriores sobre o comportamento alimentar e pode estar relacionado ao papel feminino de seleção e preparo do alimento no âmbito familiar.