Transcript Development of Food Habits - Oklahoma State University

Development of Food Habits
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.
Ellyn Satter?
Pro’s
Con’s
Relationship to reality
Popular Education
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Adults learn best when information relates to
their own experience.
Adults have specific needs/wants for
learning.
Drill and repetition!
Physical development
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Genetic differences in sensory acuity
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Touch, taste, see, smell, hear
Taste
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Sweet, sour, bitter, salt, MSG
Bitter: N-6 propylthiouracil (PROP)
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¼ tasters, 12/ medium, ¼ non-tassters
Anthropologists use it to describe genetic
variability in cultural groups
PROP tasters
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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.
PROP Tasters
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In young women,
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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
Exposure to foods
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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.
Parent Attitudes
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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.
Parent Attitudes
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Rural white
Barriers to healthy meals
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Time, external challenges, health of child
Who is responsible
Meal time behavior
Concern about food choices
Nutrition Education
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Information from family most valued
Hands on information… what do kids eat?
Parent Attitudes
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Native American
16-20% at home 42% meals fried, 37%
baked
Finishing food rules 70-80%
Food for comfort, food for rewards
How to change preferences
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Increase preference
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Parental modeling, involving child
Rewarding injection of a food
Food as a reward
Mixing a target food with another
What does the research say?
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Birch: Parental attempts at control limit
child’s ability to develop self control.
Natural preference for energy dense foods
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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
What does the research say?
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Baronowski: Fruit, juice and vegetables
Availability, variety, and repeated exposure
Parenting style
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Permissive: less milk, less nutrients, more fat
Authoritarian: less FJV, increased intake even
when full
Authoritative: teaching
Child care provider
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Regulation of intake
Scheduling of physical activity
Enthusiastic modeling
Food education limited
Parenting style
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Dessert reward and choice
References:
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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.