Food preferences in young Dutch children and recommendations for feeding intervention in developmental disabilities

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 630 - 635
• Main Authors: Deckers, Stijn R.J.M., De Moor, Jan M.H., Van der Burg, Jan J.W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Age Differences; Appreciation; Behavior Problems; Biological and medical sciences; Child Behavior; Child clinical studies; Child Day Care Centers; Child, Preschool; Developmental Disabilities; Developmental Disabilities - complications; Developmental disability; Developmental disorders; Eating Disorders; Eating Habits; Feeding; Feeding and Eating Disorders - diet therapy; Feeding and Eating Disorders - etiology; Feeding intervention; Female; Food; Food Preferences; Food refusal; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Netherlands; Nutrition; Preferences; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reference Values; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Children; Netherlands; Europe; Food preferences; Food refusal; Feeding intervention; Developmental disability; Human; Preschool age; Social environment; Feeding behavior; Mental health; Developmental disorder; Eating disorder; Feeding preference; Recommendation; Treatment; Diet therapy; Application method; Child; Public health
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2010.12.009

▶ Parents indicated 54 food items as preferred in children between two and four years. ▶ Preferences for these items are not influenced by gender and are stable over time. ▶ We recommend to choose from these preferred items in treatment for total food refusal. Total and chronic food refusal (i.e., the refusal of all types of food during a prolonged period) in young children with developmental disabilities can be treated effectively using a combination of environmental interventions. However, no guidelines for the selection of food items to offer the child in these interventions are available. The aim of the present study was to assess the preferences for specific food items of young Dutch nondisabled children (N=254) in order to enable trainers to select food items that maximize success of feeding interventions. Results indicate that 54 out of 107 food items were found to be preferred. The mean appreciation scores of boys and girls did not differ significantly for these preferred food items, except for raisins and brown bread. Also, there were no differences between the distinguished age-groups, except for peach. Recommendations for the selection of food items within feeding intervention for total and chronic food refusal in young children with developmental disabilities are given.