Many children would benefit from a diet richer in vegetables and fruit. Reluctance to taste new foods is widely recognised as a barrier to healthy dietary variety in children. 'Flavour School' is a programme of 'sensory food education', aiming to increase children's confidence and curiosity in exploring foods and flavours, especially vegetables and fruit. We report a pre-registered, cluster-randomised controlled trial to assess the outcomes of the Flavour School programme, in n=160 children aged 4-7 years from 5 UK schools in London and Leeds. Children either received the Flavour School programme (experimental group n=84) or no intervention (control group n=76), in a two-level design with children clustered within school classes. Data collection consisted of video recorded behavioural observation during a tasting activity designed to resemble a Flavour School activity, conducted before and after the intervention. Linear regression models were used to fit relationships between independent variables and outcomes; Willingness-to-taste, Enjoyment (positive/negative facial expression), and Expressiveness (change in facial expression). Most children engaged readily in the tasting activity at baseline. At follow-up children engaged with the tasting activity even more readily (on average biting one more food sample), with no significant effect of the intervention. We interpret these findings to indicate that intra-individual tasting behavior in children is context-dependent. Our results suggest that the context of sensory food education activities facilitates openness to tasting across the normal range of individual traits. However, we find no evidence that receiving sensory food education makes a reluctant taster into a less reluctant taster; no 'curative' effect of the intervention was observed. Rather, even usually fussy/reluctant children were often willing to have a go at tasting in the conducive context of an exploratory activity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN: 40249947 Date assigned 17/03/2020 Last edited 24/10/2022 Version 1.2 Trial Acronym OASES (Outcomes Assessment of Sensory Education in Schools).

Children's food preferences are a major influence on what is served for dinner in the household. However, little is known about children's perceptions of plant-based foods. This study aimed to better understand how 9- to 11-year-old children perceive plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. Different types of plant-based alternatives were investigated: meat and fish substitutes (legumes, nuts), replacements (tofu, tempeh), and analogues, as well as dairy substitutes. These alternatives were placed in a meal context, considering the influence of dish composition. The study combined design probes, interviews, and cooking sessions as different qualitative methods to explore children's perceptions. First, design probe packages with creative assignments were given to the children. Afterwards, one-to-one interviews were conducted to elaborate on the input gained from the assignments. Lastly, children created in small groups a pizza with plant-based alternatives. Results showed that taste was the topic mentioned most in both positive and negative ways. Initially, children generally had positive taste expectations for the analogues, while their taste expectations for substitutes and replacements were more negative. However, during the cooking session, there was no considerable difference in their actual taste perceptions of analogues, substitutes, and replacements. This highlights the importance of studying perceptions of plant-based alternatives in a real-life meal context, where substitutes and replacements can, next to analogues, also be an integral part of a meal. Although previous research shows that animal welfare is an important driver for children to choose plant-based alternatives, this study showed that animal welfare is linked to plant-based meat analogues only. Therefore, actively linking animal welfare to substitutes and replacements may help to guide children and their households towards a plant-forward diet with more plant-based ingredients such as vegetables, legumes, and grains.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examine the literature (up to August 2nd 2024) on the influence of exercise timing on energy intake in both children and adults. A comprehensive search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science Core Collection, following PRISMA guidelines. The review was registered in Prospero (CRD42024553381) and evaluated using QUADAS-2. From an initial 3276 articles, a meta-analysis (six studies) revealed that daily energy intake was not significantly lower when exercise was performed in the morning versus the afternoon/evening: mean difference of 64 ± 77 kcal (95% CI: 86 to 215 kcal; p = 0.403). A meta-analysis (three studies, all with children) comparing lunch energy intake before versus after exercise showed a significant difference in energy intake when exercise was performed post-meal: (-39 ± 13 kcal, 95% CI: 63 to -14 kcal; p = 0.002). For the meta-analysis of delayed lunch (five studies), where exercise ended 15 min to 4 h before the meal, and the delay between the start of each exercise condition within the same study was typically around 2 h, no significant difference in energy intake was found (-2±67 kcal; 95% CI: 134 to 130 kcal; p = 0.977). Regarding chronic exercise, a decrease in energy intake was observed with evening exercise (one study), morning exercise (two studies) or independently of exercise timing (two studies). In conclusion, findings suggest acute exercise may reduce intake in children and adolescents, but this effect is dependent on the timing of exercise.

Insulin receptors, located in brain regions associated with reward sensitivity and decision-making, facilitate insulin action in the brain, modulating intracellular signaling cascades, gene expression, and neural activity. Here, we tested if variations in the expression of the insulin receptor gene network in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum (STR) moderates the association between early life adversity and eating behaviour in childhood and if this moderation is sex-specific. Participants from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN) and Basal Influences on the Baby´s Development (BIBO) were included as two independent cohorts. A biologically-informed polygenic score reflecting functional variation of the mesocorticolimbic insulin receptor gene network was created by using insulin receptor co-expression data from the PFC and STR in mice, and validated in humans through filtering by homologous expression in PFC using well-known databases. Early life adversity exposure was measured as a composite score. Eating behaviour was characterized using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire administered to mothers of children aged 4 and 6 years in MAVAN, and 6 years in BIBO. We found that only in those with high expression of the mesocorticolimbic insulin receptor gene network a higher early adversity score associated with a higher desire to drink in 4-year boys and 6-year girls, as well as a higher food approach score and food approach/food avoidance ratio in 4-year girls. Also, a higher early life adversity was associated with higher food responsiveness, food approach score and food approach/food avoidance ratio at 6 years in the MAVAN full sample. The moderation observed on desire to drink was partially found in BIBO children aged 6 years. Identifying individual differences in response to early adversity may help to prioritize individuals at high risk for long-term disease and to design suitable interventions.

Consumers' food choices significantly impact the environment, with food production contributing substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions and water use. In response, policy interventions such as front-of-pack eco-labels aim to guide consumers towards more environmentally friendly food choices. The recently introduced Eco-score aims to guide consumers toward environmentally friendlier food choices. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness, particularly when used alongside the Nutri-score, remains limited. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 607 Belgian respondents. Respondents assessed their perceived environmental impact of food products with various Eco-score and Nutri-score combinations. They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, where one group saw both labels, while the other saw none when assessing the food products. Generalized linear models were used to determine if the Eco-score improved accuracy in assessing the environmental impact of food products, and a structural equation model analysed factors influencing the intention to use the Eco-score. Results show that the Eco-score enhances accuracy in environmental impact assessment, particularly when respondents are knowledgeable about the Eco-score and indicate environmental concerns. However, effects were less pronounced for products with conflicting Eco- and Nutri-scores, potentially due to cognitive dissonance. Furthermore, factors such as knowledge about and positive perceptions towards the Eco-score significantly influenced the intention to use it. The Eco-score's potential as a tool to guide consumers towards more environmentally friendly food choices is validated by their positive perception and enhanced evaluative capacity among a representative sample of the Belgian population. Further research and a broader implementation are necessary to assess the long-term impact and utility of the Eco-score in promoting sustainable food consumption.

Health experts and consumer protection agencies have been expressing concerns about the nutritional quality and marketing of child-oriented food products for years, and political debates on child-targeted food marketing are currently happening around the world. At the same time, systematic research on laypeople's views on the topic is still scarce. However, knowing what these consumers think is highly important, as lay beliefs can affect food decision-making and consumption. We address this gap with two online studies. In Study 1 (N = 444 parents and non-parents), we develop an instrument measuring lay beliefs about child-oriented food products consisting of three scales: Nutrition-Related Concerns, Convenience, and Healthiness. We find small effects of socio-demographic factors on beliefs and observe meaningful relationships between beliefs and (i) thinking style and (ii) food purchase motives (e.g., visual appeal and convenience). In Study 2 (N = 571 parents), we validate the factor structure of the instrument by means of CFA and find that lay beliefs about Healthiness and Convenience predict self-reported purchase of child-oriented food products. With our research, we extent current knowledge on laypeople's perceptions of child-oriented food products and provide an instrument with good psychometric properties that can be applied in future studies. Our research offers valuable insights for policymakers and producers who wish to meet the actual demands of consumers.

Research has increasingly demonstrated the need to conceptualize the etiology of eating disorders beyond a sole focus on body image disturbance. Attachment patterns, media internalization, and self-objectification have been previously found to play a potential role in the development and maintenance of eating psychopathology.

Increasing fluid intake is a core recommendation for reducing risk of kidney stone recurrence. Thirst is often insufficient to motivate the volume of intake recommended to reduce risk, so this study examined cognitive and affective processes that support fluid intake (water and flavored beverages). Patients (N=230) with a history of kidney stones identified from medical records were recruited to complete an online survey. Participants who associated unflavored water with favorable bodily consequences and positive hedonic experiences were likely to have stronger non-thirst-related urges to drink unflavored water, and those who associated unflavored water with negative hedonic experiences were likely to have stronger non-thirst-related urges to drink flavored drinks. Non-thirst-related urges to drink unflavored water were positively associated with water intake volume, but non-thirst-related urges to drink flavored drinks were negatively associated with water intake volume. These findings establish the importance of affective processing as a target for promoting fluid intake in cases where thirst is not sufficient.

Food rejections are common in young children and often include healthy foods, hereby impairing the quality of their diet. Previous studies indicate that food texture may play a role in children's food preferences and intake. Building on these findings, as part of an ongoing longitudinal project, the present study investigated whether food rejection is related to tactile sensitivity and tactile appreciation in three-year-old children. A total of 259 children and 289 parents participated in the study. Child food rejection was measured using an ad libitum taste test, in which children were asked to try four different types of vegetables. Next to this, parents reported on their child's food rejection tendencies by completing the Child Food Rejection Scale (CFRS), and indicating their child's liking of 14 vegetables and 11 fruits (Liking of foods). Tactile appreciation was measured using a behavioural Affective Appreciation of Textures (AAT) task, in which children were asked to feel five different objects with their hands and were asked to indicate the pleasantness of the sensation on a three-point smiley-scale. The subscale Touch of the parental questionnaire Sensory Profile (SP-t) was further used to measure tactile sensitivity. Results show that stronger food rejection measured using an ad-libitum taste test is related to a dislike of textures measured using the AAT task. Similarly, parent-reported food rejection measured using CFRS and Liking of foods is positively related to parent-reported tactile sensitivity measured using SP-t. Together, these findings suggest that some children do not only reject food because of its taste, but also because of their dislike of textures. To increase healthy food intake in picky children, it may thus prove helpful to improve children's appreciation of textures.

Food addiction (FA) research has primarily concentrated on binge eating as a symptom of this condition. However, FA may encompass various overeating behaviours, including compulsive grazing - the repetitive consumption of small amounts of food with loss of control. This study extends our previous research by including a clinical sample to investigate whether compulsive grazing exists in a population with higher prevalence and severity of FA. It also examines whether weight or sex moderates the severity or frequency of FA.

Interventions that alter characteristics of the food environment have been found to reduce energy intake in adults. However, few studies have examined the effect of Availability (reducing the number of higher energy options) and Position (altering the order of options) interventions on food choices by younger populations. Hence, this study examined the individual and combined effects of Availability and Position interventions on adolescents' energy selection from restaurant menus. In this online experiment, adolescents (13-17 years; N = 434) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) Availability and Position absent (control group) = 60% higher energy options, ordered randomly by energy content; (2) Availability present, Position absent = 40% higher energy options, ordered randomly by energy content; (3) Position present, Availability absent = 60% higher energy options, menu options were ordered from lower to higher energy; (4) Availability present, Position present = 40% higher energy options, menu options were ordered from lower to higher energy. The primary outcome was average energy selected per meal (starter, main, and dessert). Findings showed that both the Availability and Position interventions reduced adolescents' meal energy selection, whether presented as individual interventions or combined. Thus, reducing the availability of higher energy menu options, and ordering menu options from low to high energy, appear to be effective strategies for reducing adolescents' energy selection from overall meals. Further research is needed to determine whether these findings translate to real-life food choices.

Weight discrimination is associated with deleterious health outcomes, including high stress and disordered eating. According to the rejection-identification model, people who perceive such group-based discrimination respond by identifying more strongly with their stigmatized group, which can attenuate negative consequences of discrimination. However, some research shows that these protective benefits may not exist in the weight domain. Here, we examined whether perceived weight discrimination predicts identifying as "fat," and whether that increased identification protects against negative consequences of discrimination for health. In a larger study, U.S. adults who reported considering themselves "to be overweight" (N = 1,725) reported on their perceived weight-based discrimination, fat-group identification, stress, and eating behaviors (i.e., uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and restrained eating). We tested whether fat-group identification mediated the associations of perceived discrimination to stress and eating. Results showed that perceiving weight discrimination was associated with greater fat-group identification, which in turn was associated with more stress, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating. These findings suggest that identifying as "fat" in the face of weight discrimination may not reduce subsequent stress or unhealthy eating patterns. As such, in contrast to prior research on the rejection-identification model that suggests identifying with one's group is protective for other identities, "fat" as an identity may not provide the same psychological and physical health benefits.

Emotional eating has been linked to childhood obesity. A variety of emotions often trigger this form of eating, which has been associated with stress-induced overeating, loss of control eating, and binge eating in children. However, research on how maternal immigration status and feeding practices influence emotional eating in children within Asian contexts is sparse. This study examines the association between maternal immigration status and emotional eating in children, exploring the mediating roles of health literacy and feeding practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on various aspects of life. This study aims to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic changed food preferences, focusing on cost perceptions, environmental factors, and health attributes. We conducted a panel study with self-administered online surveys among undergraduate students in Chile, both before and during the first wave of the pandemic. Each survey included a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit food preferences. Using mixed logit models, our analysis shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic, sensitivity to cost, preference for foods with low environmental impact, and preference for vitamin-rich foods increased. These changes in preferences can be attributed to individuals' perceived health risks. These findings suggest that the pandemic increased awareness of sustainable and healthy food choices, with important implications for promoting these choices during global crises.

Plant-based diets benefit individual health and the environment, yet most people eat omnivorous diets. We aim to (1) assess the role of multiple determinants for transitioning to more plant-based diets in a sample of omnivorous respondents, such as recommendations from doctors, scientists and politicians; lower costs; and increased availability, and to (2) identify which subpopulations are most receptive to which determinants. Using data from a survey on the use and acceptance of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Germany (N=4,065; N omnivorous=3,419; 84%), we find that the overall willingness to change to a more plant-based diet is low (mean=2.25 on a scale of 1 to 4). Respondents are most willing based on doctors' recommendations (mean=2.61), and if prices for plant-based products were lower (mean=2.55), and least willing based on scientists' and politicians' recommendations (mean=1.86). Regression analyses reveal that men, the baby boomer cohort, and respondents with lower levels of education have a significantly lower willingness to transition to more plant-based diets. Further, recommendations from doctors, scientists, and politicians appear to be promising interventions for addressing the dietary behavior of men and older cohorts. Interventions by doctors and lower prices for plant-based products have the highest potential to induce dietary change even among the reluctant, reducing health inequalities and promoting environmentally friendly behavior.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the risk of adverse psychological and physical outcomes and chronic disease in adulthood. The mechanism of this relationship is still unclear. ACEs might exert their negative influence on adult health via both dietary and psychological axes. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between ACEs and diet quality in the national sample of Poles. We also aimed to determine whether difficulty in regulating emotions act as a mediator of this relationship. The national Polish sample of adults (n = 3557) took part in this study. ACEs were assessed via the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. Data on food consumption frequency over the past year, body weight and height were collected using the self-administered version of the Dietary Habits and Nutrition Beliefs Questionnaire (KomPAN®). Two diet quality scores were evaluated: Pro-Healthy-Diet-Index-10 (pHDI) and Non-Healthy-Diet-Index-14 (nHDI). Emotion regulation (ER) was evaluated via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Path analysis was used to examine the associations between the variables, firstly formulated by theoretical assumptions expressed by directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). A higher number of ACEs was related to higher difficulties in ER in adults (p < 0.001), which in turn was related to lower pHDI (p < 0.001) and higher nHDI (p = 0.027). Our findings strengthen the rationale for ACEs screening as a potential risk factor for diet-related chronic disease in adulthood. They provide a framework for public health prevention strategies via interventions targeting diet quality and emotional regulation in the setting of multidisciplinary practice.

The texture of foods plays an important role in the liking of foods. Especially for picky eaters, texture can be a reason to reject foods. Previous studies showed that picky eaters in general dislike tactile stimulation more, which can include the feel of sand in their hands and specific food textures in their mouth. It has been suggested that this dislike stems from lower thresholds to detect touch, causing textures to feel over-stimulating and therefore more aversive. Alternatively, picky eaters might have the same objective tactile thresholds, but different subjective evaluations. The aim of the present study is to test the relations between tactile thresholds, liking of textures, food liking and picky eating. In a sample of 86 adult participants, picky eating was measured with the Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire (APEQ) and food liking with the Food Liking Questionnaire (FLQ). Tactile thresholds were tested with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments (both on the tongue and fingertip) and liking of different textures was measured by feeling several textures with the hands. Results showed that both tongue and fingertip tactile thresholds were not related to the liking of textures. Thresholds of the fingertip, but not the tongue, were weakly related to food liking, but not directly to the APEQ. Liking of textures was related to both food liking and the APEQ. The results indicate that picky eaters indeed have a general subjective dislike of textures, but this cannot be explained by lower tactile thresholds. Future research might focus on how differential liking of textures develops.

High meat consumption negatively impacts human and planetary health. Meatless Monday (MM) is a widely known public health initiative that promotes healthy and sustainable diets by encouraging people to eliminate meat for one day each week.

Despite the well-established health benefits of fruits and vegetables, U.S. consumption remains far below the WHO's recommended 400 g per day. Understanding how culinary techniques influence intake could elucidate strategies for improving dietary habits.

With the rapid increase in the consumption of organic food, there has also been a growing interest in developing a nuanced understanding of the many different drivers of this consumption trend. Although many studies examine people's motives for consuming organic food, the role of culture has received limited attention. The present research examines the hitherto unexplored role of power distance belief (PDB)-the extent to which people accept and endorse social hierarchy- on consumers' organic food preferences and purchases. Across five studies, comprising both real and hypothetical purchases, we find that, due to their greater environmental concerns, low PDB consumers have a greater preference for organic foods than do high PDB consumers. We also demonstrate two strategies that motivate high PDB consumers to purchase more organic foods. Specifically, we show that high PDB consumers purchase organic foods more when environmental issues reduce society's power distance in the future. Moreover, high PDB consumers reported greater organic food consumption when primed with low (vs. high) level construal. We conclude the paper with the implications of these findings for policymakers and businesses in terms of, for example, their segmentation, targeting, and promotion strategies.