Food neophobia associates with lower dietary quality and higher BMI in Finnish adults

Abstract

Objective: Food neophobia has been associated with decreased consumption of vegetables mainly among children. We hypothesized that food neophobia in adults is also associated with lower overall dietary quality and higher BMI. Design: Data for the present cross-sectional analyses were derived from parents in a follow-up family study. Setting: The STEPS study, a longitudinal study of health and development of a cohort of children born in south-west Finland. Subjects: The parents, 1178 women (age 19-45 years, mean 32·2 years) and 1013 men (age 18-57 years, mean 34·1 years), completed a questionnaire at home when their child was 13 months old. The questionnaire included the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS; range 10-70), the Index of Diet Quality (IDQ; range 0-16) and a measure of fruit and vegetable consumption. At that time the participants' height and weight were also measured by a research nurse to calculate BMI. ) as tested by one-way ANOVA, with all P values <0·001 in women and <0·05 in men. The food neophobics followed a diet lower in nutritional quality than did the food neophilics, especially regarding vegetables. Conclusions: Food neophobia may complicate adaptation to dietary recommendations and predispose to overweight.

Cross-national differences in child food neophobia: A comparison of five European countries

“…These differences, however, disappeared in children aged 8 and 9 years, suggesting 326 that with increasing age, differences in FN due to gender may decrease. In adults, gender-related differences 327 in FN are not found (Knaapila et al, 2015) or rarely found and when they are, the differences are marginal 328 A weak, negative association between FN and the age of introduction of semi-solids in children's diet was 343 seen in our data. In line with our finding, Robinson et al (2007) showed that poorer-quality diets (i.e., less 344 fruit, vegetable and wholegrain products) of young children (6-12 months) were more common in families 345 where solid foods were introduced at an earlier age.…”

“…Thus, FN could potentially lead to important 37 nutritional consequences (Zickgraf and Schepps, 2016;Jaeger et al, 2017). It is largely recognized that FN is 38 negatively related to daily intake and liking of fruit and vegetables (Perry et and increased body mass index (BMI) has been observed in adults (Knaapila et al, 2015;Proserpio et al, 43 2018). Neophobic individuals may choose to eat familiar foods which are more energy dense than fruits and 44 vegetables (Knaapila et al, 2011) or may be less willing to try healthy alternative versions of familiar products 45 (Laureati et al, 2015b).…”

Food neophobia associates with poorer dietary quality, metabolic risk factors, and increased disease outcome risk in population-based cohorts in a metabolomics study

“…Food neophobia is associated with several factors, including age, gender, personality features, living area, education level, and socioeconomic status (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). Furthermore, a high prevalence of food neophobia has been detected in children in particular and in people with low socioeconomic status living in rural areas (8,9). To some extent, food neophobia in children can be considered a normal and developmentally appropriate response characterized as "omnivore's dilemma," in which the sampling of new food items may provide a source of nutrition or toxicity, thus potentially resulting in neophobic behavior.…”

“…Food neophobia is also associated with the development of other eating disorders and a reduced intake of fish and vegetables, leading to reduced overall dietary quality (4,9). Previously, reduced dietary quality has been associated with an increased risk of obesity and subsequent chronic diseases [e.g., cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), and type 2 diabetes (T2D)] and inflammation (10)(11)(12)(13).…”

“…Food neophobia and its association with dietary quality and health both at the molecular level and at the disease outcome level are still underresearched in adult populations (6,9). The aim of our study was to assess how food neophobia is associated with dietary quality and health-related biomarkers by examining the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and NMR metabolomic profiles of the Finnish adult population.…”