Annemarie Olsen

Food texture, such as the presence of lumps or pieces, is a common reason for food rejection among children. Yet, few strategies exist to support children with narrow texture preferences. This study explored whether tactile exposure to food stimuli could improve children’s preferences for food containing particles. Twenty-four children aged 3-6 years with an initial low preference for particulate textures, screened using a validated forced-choice questionnaire, participated in three tactile activities over one week. These included (1) searching for hidden objects in muesli and yoghurt, (2) preparing a yoghurt-fruit mix by cutting and smashing fresh fruits, and (3) matching foods to texture vocabulary in a semantic task. Texture preferences were assessed immediately before and after the activity week using paired preference tests comparing smooth yoghurts with yoghurts containing fruit pieces, and at a one-week follow-up by repeating the questionnaire. Parents were also interviewed regarding their perceptions of the activities. Paired preference tests showed no significant change in children’s preference for yoghurt with fruit pieces. However, children’s self-reported preferences for foods containing particles increased significantly at follow-up (p = 0.032). Parents responded positively to the activities, and about half reported positive changes in their child’s eating behaviours, such as being more explorative, increased acceptance of foods with particles, and willingness to try new foods. Overall, these findings suggest that tactile exposure may be a promising strategy to familiarise children with specific textures and provide examples of texture-focused activities that could support future interventions in home or childcare settings.

The transition from primary to permanent dentition is an important phase in children's oral development, yet its impact on texture perception and food acceptance are less explored. This study aimed to investigate how changing dentition and tooth loss influence texture preferences and perception of eating difficulty among children aged 5 to 12 years. Children (n = 475) completed a forced‐choice questionnaire featuring drawings of six food pairs, each available in hard or soft texture, and reported whether they had started losing primary teeth and the number of tooth gaps present. They also tasted four samples: chocolate snacks (cake and biscuits) and cheddar cheese (grated and cubes), evaluating their perceived eating difficulty and liking for each sample. Analysis of questionnaire responses showed a general preference for softer food textures among children, with a 36% probability of choosing hard foods. Preferences were not related to child's dental state, including primary teeth loss (p = .13) or number of tooth gaps (p = .45). In the taste test, chocolate biscuits and cheese cubes were perceived as significantly more difficult to eat than chocolate cake and grated cheese, respectively (both p < .0001). Children with more than two tooth gaps reported greater eating difficulty for chocolate biscuits and cheese cubes compared to children with fewer or no tooth gaps. This study demonstrated that children's texture preferences for hardness of foods remained consistent during dentition change, while their perception of eating difficulty could vary based on their dental state at specific points in time.

Foods containing bits and pieces are often less liked by children; however, there is a limited understanding of how perceptions and preferences for foods with particles change during childhood. This study aimed to investigate preferences and perceptions of particle‐containing foods in children aged 5–12 years. Children (n = 485) completed a forced‐choice questionnaire on drawings of six pairs of foods, each available with or without particles. Additionally, children tasted yogurts added with muesli differing in particle size (median diameter: 3.9 or 7.5 mm) and evaluated their perception of particle size in mouth and their liking. The questionnaire results showed that children had a clear preference for foods without particles. The average probability of choosing the ‘with‐particle’ foods was 28%, significantly below the midpoint of 50% (p < .0001). Preferences for particle‐containing foods were lowest at age six and increased significantly with age (p = .0007). In the taste test, muesli particle size affected oral size perception (p < .0001) but not liking (p = .60). Older children were better able to differentiate particle size than younger children. However, there was no relationship between individual preferences for particle‐containing foods and oral size perception of muesli particles. The observation that children's texture preferences changed with age highlights the role of increased experience in shaping preferences for foods with particles.

Texture properties of foods are particular drivers for food acceptance and rejection in children. The texture preferences follow the developmental progression of the child and these changes modulate the present and future food habits. This paper reviews the development and factors influencing texture preferences in children and the methods in food texture research with children. The child’s acceptance of more complex food textures is age-dependent. The progression is indorsed by the development of oral processing skills at an early age and bolstered by repeated exposures to foods with varying textures. Children generally reject foods containing pieces or bits (i.e., geometrical textural properties); however, the impact of mechanical textural properties on food acceptance is less clear. Child characteristics such as food neophobia, picky eating, and tactile over-responsivity, negatively affect the acceptance of more diverse food textures. Depending on the child’s age, the prevailing methods of characterizing food texture preferences in children include observational techniques and self-reported questionnaires. Despite knowledge of children’s development of masticatory skills, learning, and cognitive abilities, the relationships of these changes to food texture acceptance and the recommended test methodology for evaluating product texture acceptance in this period of life are still limited.

This study aims to explore whether children’s food texture preferences are associated with different levels of sensory sensitivity and food neophobia, as well as with other variables, such as parental texture preferences. An online questionnaire was completed by 70 children aged 6–13 years old, alongside one of their parents. Generic texture preferences of children and parents were investigated with the Child Food Texture Preference Questionnaire (CFTPQ). Parents provided background information about their children by completing the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS), the Short Sensory Profile (SSP) and a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The results showed that children who differed in their texture-liker status also differed in their levels of food neophobia and sensory information processing: children who preferred softer and non-particulate versions of foods were found to be more neophobic and sensory sensitive across all sensory domains. No relationship was found between parental and children’s texture preferences.

It is by now well established that a plant-based and meatless or reduced-meat diet is an important contribution to a sustainability and healthy diet. This work discusses important determinants for parents of implementing a meat reduced diet for their children. A questionnaire was conducted with 90 parents of children aged 5–8 years living in Germany, where they had to choose one out of three options of a dish, namely meaty, reduced meat and no meat, for their child. The results show that the parent’s attachment to meat and the associated attitudes and habits play a crucial role in their meal choice and therefore eating behaviour, including consumed amounts of meat, of their child. Moreover, perceived tastiness, healthiness and balanced serving style, as well as the child’s preferences influences the parent’s decision. The findings of this work provide valuable insights to the food industry and food producers, health professionals and public health, as it highlights the background, as well as some drivers and barriers for parents choosing a dish with less meat for their children.

Parents are important agents in shaping children’s eating habits. However, the associations between children’s and parents’ eating behaviors are complex and may be convoluted for various reasons, such as parenting feeding styles, stressful mealtimes, and children’s neurodevelopmental disorders (ND), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this study was to analyze associations between parents and their children’s fussy eating, in a cross-sectional sample of children, with and without ND. Ninety-seven parents answered screening questionnaires prior to an intervention study. Associations were investigated using two-way ANOVAs and chi-square analyses. Overall, children with ND accepted fewer food items and consumed unhealthier foods more frequently than children without ND. Fussy eating parents had children who accepted fewer food items and consumed unhealthier foods more frequently than children whose parents were not fussy eaters. Interaction effects were not significant. A higher proportion of fussy eating parents, than non-fussy eating parents, had children who had difficulties with combined foods and hidden ingredients. The findings highlight the need for further investigation into the relationships between parents’ influence on their children’s eating behavior and food consumption, as well as possible reciprocal impacts.

Fruit and vegetables are important components of a healthy diet, but unfortunately many children are not consuming enough to meet the recommendations. Therefore, it is crucial to develop strategies towards increasing the acceptance of this food group. This study aims to investigate the effect of different repeated exposure frequencies on fruit and vegetable acceptance using a novel vegetable, daikon, among 3–6-year-old children. One hundred and fifty-nine children participated in this study. Eight kindergarten teams were assigned to one of the following groups: Three different intervention groups with varying exposure frequencies, but all receiving seven exposures: Twice a week (n = 47), once a week (n = 32) and once every second week (n = 30), and a control group (n = 50). Liking and familiarity of daikon and other vegetables (cucumber, celery, celeriac, broccoli, cauliflower and beetroot) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and two follow up sessions (3 and 6 months) to test for potential generalisation effects and observe the longevity of the obtained effects. Intake of daikon was measured at all exposures and test sessions. Results showed significant increases (p ≤ 0.05) in liking and intake of daikon for all three frequencies and the control group. Over the exposures, intake of daikon increased until the 4th exposure for all the groups, where a plateau was reached. No systematic generalisation effects were found. Repeated exposure was a successful approach to increase liking and intake of a novel vegetable with all exposure frequencies to be effective, and no particular exposure frequency can be recommended. Even the few exposures the control group received were found to be sufficient to improve intake and liking over 6 months (p ≤ 0.05), indicating that exposures to low quantities of an unfamiliar vegetable may be sufficient.