Mother’s feeding practices may influence children’s reluctance to try new foods: NIN study
Food neophobia among children can limit dietary variety and potentially affect nutritional health during crucial years of growth
A new study by researchers at the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) reveals that a mother's knowledge, attitude, and feeding practices can significantly impact a child's willingness to try new foods. Published in the Journal of Nutritional Science, the study examined 150 mother-child pairs from Addagutta, Hyderabad, focusing on children aged two to seven years.
The findings show that nearly 77% of children displayed moderate levels of food neophobia, while 11.3% had high levels and 12% had low levels. Boys showed slightly higher food neophobia scores than girls, although the difference was not statistically significant. The study also found a link between nutritional status and food acceptance, with children suffering from wasting being more likely to exhibit higher food neophobia scores.
Researchers emphasize the importance of maternal feeding practices, suggesting that caregivers offer a variety of foods without pressure, create positive mealtime experiences, and respond supportively when children reject unfamiliar foods.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
