Food texture acceptance, sensory sensitivity, and food neophobia in children and their parents

Maddalena Cappellotto, Annemarie Olsen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)
33 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study aims to explore whether children’s food texture preferences are associated with different levels of sensory sensitivity and food neophobia, as well as with other variables, such as parental texture preferences. An online questionnaire was completed by 70 children aged 6–13 years old, alongside one of their parents. Generic texture preferences of children and parents were investigated with the Child Food Texture Preference Questionnaire (CFTPQ). Parents provided background information about their children by completing the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS), the Short Sensory Profile (SSP) and a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The results showed that children who differed in their texture-liker status also differed in their levels of food neophobia and sensory information processing: children who preferred softer and non-particulate versions of foods were found to be more neophobic and sensory sensitive across all sensory domains. No relationship was found between parental and children’s texture preferences.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2327
JournalFoods
Volume10
Issue number10
Number of pages10
ISSN2304-8158
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: The study was financed by the Nordea-fonden through the project “Taste for Life”.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Determinants of Preference and Consumption of Healthy Food in Children.

Keywords

  • Children
  • Neophobia
  • Preferences
  • Tactile
  • Texture

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