Development of Food Habits

1. Development of Food Habits

2. Basic principles Children will eat. Children are capable of regulating food intake. Children generally react negatively to new foods but will accept them with time and experience Parents can either support or disrupt a child’s food acceptance and regulation.

3. Ellyn Satter? Pro’s Con’s Relationship to reality

4. Popular Education • Adults learn best when information relates to their own experience. • Adults have specific needs/wants for learning. • Drill and repetition!

5. Physical development • Genetic differences in sensory acuity • Touch, taste, see, smell, hear • Taste • Sweet, sour, bitter, salt, MSG • Bitter: N-6 propylthiouracil (PROP) • ¼ tasters, 12/ medium, ¼ non-tassters • Anthropologists use it to describe genetic variability in cultural groups

6. PROP tasters • Tasters dislike cruciferous and green and raw vegetables, but fruit is OK. • Taster children had lower acceptance of broccoli and American cheese. Taster girls had less full fat milk, and lower fat intake. • Taster children rated cheese lower and milk higher.

7. PROP Tasters • In young women, • Prop sensitivity was associated with lower acceptance of coffee, cruciferous vegetables, tart citrus fruit, dark breads, and some fats • Sugar preference was associated with liking for sugar in tea and coffee

8. Exposure to foods • Development of refusal to eat new things around 3. • Need to see a new food 8-12 times to accept that food well. • Infants that are exposed to a variety of flavors from breastmilk, or frequent introduction of new foods are more accepting.

9. Parent Attitudes • Low income black • Obese not on growth charts, but if had physical limitation or was teased. • Not a problem if were active or had a healthy diet or good appetite, were thick, or solid. • Fat was genetic • Maternal control over food was challenged by others in family. • Fed a child, if he was hungry, even if just ate.

10. Parent Attitudes • Rural white • Barriers to healthy meals • Time, external challenges, health of child • Who is responsible • Meal time behavior • Concern about food choices • Nutrition Education • Information from family most valued • Hands on information… what do kids eat?

11. Parent Attitudes • Native American • 16-20% at home 42% meals fried, 37% baked • Finishing food rules 70-80% • Food for comfort, food for rewards

12. How to change preferences • Increase preference • Parental modeling, involving child • Rewarding injection of a food • Food as a reward • Mixing a target food with another

13. What does the research say? • Birch: Parental attempts at control limit child’s ability to develop self control. • Natural preference for energy dense foods • Overeating with portion size • Forcing to eat a food leads to dislike • Not hungry…. Eat: Hungry….. Wait • Restriction…. Excess • Maternal diet restraint: increase child intake

14. What does the research say? • Baronowski: Fruit, juice and vegetables • Availability, variety, and repeated exposure • Parenting style • Permissive: less milk, less nutrients, more fat • Authoritarian: less FJV, increased intake even when full • Authoritative: teaching

15. Child care provider • Regulation of intake • Scheduling of physical activity • Enthusiastic modeling • Food education limited • Parenting style • Dessert reward and choice

16. References: • Birch LL, Davison KK. Family environmental factors influencing the developing behavioral controls of food intake and childhood overweight. Pediatr Clin North Am 2001 48(4);893-907. • Nicklas TA, Baranowski T, Baranowski JC, Cullen K et al Nutrition Reviews 2001 59:224-235.