Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-hxdxx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-15T13:17:39.633Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age and gender differences in children's food preferences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Lucy J. Cooke  and
Jane Wardle
Lucy J. Cooke*
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
Jane Wardle
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Lucy Cooke, fax +44 (0) 20 7813 2848, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The present study was conducted to examine the developmental patterning of food preferences in a large sample of British schoolchildren and to investigate possible gender differences. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the study was carried out in three primary and three secondary schools in West London, UK. A total of 1291 children aged from 4 to 16 years completed a 115-item food preference questionnaire in class time, supervised by class teachers and assistants. Children indicated whether they had ever tried each item and, if so, how much they liked it. We observed age-related increases in the number of foods tried (P<0·001), liked (P<0·005) and disliked (P<0·05). Controlling for the number of foods tried rendered the increase in dislikes non-significant and reversed the age effect on the number liked. Girls liked fruit (P<0·05) and vegetables (P<0·001) more than boys did; boys liked fatty and sugary foods (P<0·005), meat (P<0·001), processed meat products (P<0·001) and eggs (P<0·05) more than girls did. Some age differences were apparent in liking for categories of food, although the effects were not linear. Across ages and genders, children rated fatty and sugary foods most highly, although ratings for fruit were also high. Children's food preferences overall are not consistent with a healthy diet. Interventions should focus on increasing the familiarity, availability and accessibility of healthy foods and should be mindful of the need to target messages appropriately for boys who have less healthful food preferences than girls at all ages.

Keywords

ChildFood preferencesAge differencesGender differences
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 93 , Issue 5 , May 2005 , pp. 741 - 746
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Baxter, SD & Thompson, WO (2002) Fourth-grade children's consumption of fruit and vegetable items available as part of school lunches is closely related to preferences. J Nutr Educ Behav 34, 166–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellisle, F, Rolland-Cachera, M-F & Kellogg Scientific Advisory Committee ‘Child and Nutrition’ (2000) Three consecutive (1993, 1995, 1997) surveys of food intake, nutritional attitudes and knowledge, and lifestyle in 1000 French children, aged 9–11 years. J Hum Nutr Diet 13, 101–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birch, LL (1979a) Dimensions of preschool children's food preferences. J Nutr Educ 11, 77–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birch, LL (1979b) Preschool children's food preferences and consumption patterns. J Nutr Educ 11, 189–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birch, LL (1999) Development of food preferences. Annu Rev Nutr 19, 41–62.Google Scholar
Birch, LL & Marlin, DW (1982) I don't like it; I never tried it: effects of exposure on two-year-old children's food preferences. Appetite 3, 353–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooke, L, Wardle, J, Gibson, EL, Sapochnik, M, Sheiham, A & Lawson, M (2004) Demographic, familial and trait predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption by preschool children. Publ Health Nutr 7, 295–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diehl, JM (1999) [Food preferences of 10- to 14-year-old boys and girls]. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 129, 151–161.Google ScholarPubMed
Drewnowski, A (1997) Taste preferences and food intake. Annu Rev Nutr 17, 237–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrett, BE & Griffiths, RR (1998) Physical dependence increases the relative reinforcing effects of caffeine versus placebo. Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 139, 195–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, EL, Wardle, J & Watts, CJ (1998) Fruit and vegetable consumption, nutrition knowledge and beliefs in mothers and children. Appetite 31, 205–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koivisto, UK & Sjoden, PO (1996) Food and general neophobia in Swedish families: parent-child comparisons and relationships with serving specific foods. Appetite 26, 107–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koivisto, Hursti U-K & Sjoden, PO (1997) Food and general neophobia and their relationship with self-reported food choice: familial resemblance in Swedish families with children of ages 7–17 years. Appetite 29, 89–103.Google Scholar
Le Bigot Macaux A (2001) Eat to live or live to eat? Do parents and children agree?. Public Health Nutr 4, 141–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lien, N, Lytle, LA & Klepp, KI (2001) Stability in consumption of fruit, vegetables and sugary foods in a cohort from age 14 to age 21. Prevent Med 33, 217–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lytle, LA, Seifert, S, Greenstein, J & McGovern, P (2000) How do children's eating patterns and food choices change over time? Results from a cohort study. Am J Health Promot 14, 222–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicklaus, S, Boggio, V, Chabanet, C & Issanchou, S (2004) A prospective study of food preferences in childhood. Food Qual Prefer 15, 805–818.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelchat, ML & Pliner, P (1995) 'Try it. You'll like it'. Effects of information on willingness to try novel foods. Appetite 24, 153–166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perez-Rodrigo, C, Ribas, L, Serra-Majem, L & Aranceta, J (2003) Food preferences of Spanish children and young people: the enKid study. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, Suppl. 1, S45–S48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peryam, DR (1963) The acceptance of novel foods. Food Technol 17, 33–39.Google Scholar
Pliner, P (1982) The effects of mere exposure on liking for edible substances. Appetite 3, 283–290.Google Scholar
Pliner, P & Pelchat, M (1986) Similarities in food preferences between children and their siblings and parents. Appetite 7, 333–342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Resnicow, K, Davis-Hearn, M, Smith, M, Baranowski, T, Lin, LS, Baranowski, J, Doyle, C & Wang, DT (1997) Social-cognitive predictors of fruit and vegetable intake in children. Health Psychol 16, 272–276.Google Scholar
Reynolds, KD, Baranowski, T, Bishop, DB, Farris, RP, Binkley, D, Nicklas, TA & Elmer, PJ (1999) Patterns in child and adolescent consumption of fruit and vegetables: effects of gender and ethnicity across four sites. J Am Coll Nutr 18, 248–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, CH & Thomas, SP (2004) The interaction model of client health behavior as a conceptual guide in the explanation of children's health behaviors. Public Health Nurs 21, 73–84.Google Scholar
Skinner, JD, Caruth, BR, Wendy, B & Ziegler, PJ (2002) Children's food preferences: a longitudinal analysis. J Am Diet Assoc 102, 1638–1647.Google Scholar
Sweeting, H, Anderson, A & West, P (1994) Socio-demographic correlates of dietary habits in mid to late adolescence. Eur J Clin Nutr 48, 736–748.Google Scholar
Ton Nu, C, MacLeod, P & Barthelemy, J (1996) Effects of age and gender on adolescents' food habits and preferences. Food Qual Prefer 7, 251–262.Google Scholar
Wardle, J, Haase, AM, Steptoe, A, Nillapun, M, Jonwutiwes, K & Bellisle, F (2004) Gender differences in food choice: the contribution of health beliefs and dieting. Ann Behav Med 27, 107–116.Google Scholar
Wardle, J, Sanderson, S, Gibson, EL & Rapoport, L (2001) Factor-analytic structure of food preferences in four-year-old children in the UK. Appetite 37, 217–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed