Food rejections in children: Cognitive and social/environmental factors involved in food neophobia and picky/fussy eating behavior.

Jérémie Lafraire (1) , Camille Rioux (2, 1) , Agnès Giboreau (1) , Delphine Picard (2)

1 Center for Food and Hospitality Research
2 PsyCLÉ - Centre de Recherche en Psychologie de la Connaissance, du Langage et de l'Émotion

Food neophobia and picky/fussy eating behavior are presented as the two main forms of children's food rejections which are responsible for a reduction of their dietary repertoire. We review the key factors, presented in the literature, that are involved in food rejections during childhood. We first consider a range of " cognitive factors " , such as food perception, mental representations, categorization of food items, and emotions and feelings toward food. Next we focus on " social and environmental factors " , as these might also significantly influence and modulate children's food rejections. We then summarize the findings to provide a comprehensive view of the factors involved in children's food rejections. Finally, we discuss the need for future studies on food rejections, regarding (i) the distinction between food neo-phobia and picky/fussy eating, and (ii) the potential link between food categorization abilities and children's food neophobia and pickiness.

Mots clés: Food rejection; Children; Food neophobia; Categorization; Cognitive and social factors; "Picky/fussy" eating

Domaines: Psychologie; Psychologie

Jérémie Lafraire, Camille Rioux, Agnès Giboreau, Delphine Picard. Food rejections in children: Cognitive and social/environmental factors involved in food neophobia and picky/fussy eating behavior.. Appetite, 2016, 96, pp.347-357. ⟨10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.008⟩. ⟨hal-01464651⟩