O076 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARENTAL FEEDING PRACTICES AND FOOD NEOPHOBIA AMONG SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN POLAND
O076
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARENTAL FEEDING PRACTICES AND FOOD NEOPHOBIA AMONG SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN POLAND
M. SKOTNICKA1,*, L. Długoński1, S. Małgorzewicz2
1Department of Commodity Science, 2Clinical Nutrition, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdansk, Poland
Rationale: Food neophobia, defined as the reluctance to try unfamiliar foods, is a common phenomenon among school-aged children and may negatively affect dietary diversity and overall diet quality. The aim of this study was to assess the level of food neophobia in children and to examine its association with parental feeding practices.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,113 mothers of children aged 7–15 years using standardized tools: the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS) and the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ).
Results: High food neophobia was observed in 42.6% of children, while 42.9% and 14.6% had low and moderate levels, respectively.
Among the analyzed feeding practices, encouragement (mean = 3.82) and modelling (mean = 3.75) were the most frequently reported strategies, whereas monitoring (mean = 3.44) was the least commonly used. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that emotion regulation (β = 0.19), use of food as a reward (β = 0.17), food environment (β = 0.14), and control (β = 0.12) were significantly and positively associated with higher levels of food neophobia. The model explained 29.4% of the variance (R² = 0.294).
Factor analysis identified two feeding styles: control-oriented and supportive. The control-oriented style was more prevalent among mothers of children with high neophobia, whereas the supportive style was more common in those with low neophobia (p = 0.001)
Conclusion: These findings suggest that controlling and emotion-based feeding practices may exacerbate food neophobia, whereas supportive strategies promote openness to new foods. Interventions targeting parental feeding behaviors may be effective in reducing food neophobia and improving dietary diversity among children.
Disclosure of Interest: None declared