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Effects of age and gender on adolescents' food habits and preferences
Food Q&g
PIIr
ELSEVIER
?30950.3293(96)00023-7
and PrcfcrcnccVol. 7, No. 3/4, pp. 251-262, 1996 Copyright 0 19% Elrmier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights resewed o!zo-3293/96 $15.00 + 0.00
EFFECTSOFAGEANDGENDERONADOLESCENTS'FOOD HABITSANDPREFERENCES ChristineTon *Laboratoire
devaluation
Nu,~~* Patrick MacLeodC & Jacques Barthelemyb
“ENGREF, 19 avenue du Maine, 75732, Paris cedex 15, France Sensorielle Nestle France, 7 Bd Pierre Carle. Noisiel, 77446, Marne “EPHE, 1 avenue des Olympiades, 91305, Massy, France
la VallCe cedex 2, France
(Accepted 5 November 1995)
Dumas et al., 1980; Michaud & Baudier, 1991; Andersson et al., 1993). Michaud & Baudier ( 199 1)) in their review of nutritional studies conducted in France since
ABSTRACT
1988, found adolescents’ eating behaviour to be relatively healthy. French teenagers, unlike their Anglo-
This study explored food habits and preferences of 222 French adolescents of 10 to 20 years old. They completed a questionnaire about their eating habits and quoted 10 of their favourite and 10 of their most disliked foods or beverages. They also mentioned any change in their preferences. These results show thatfood habits and tastes are mostly related to age and gender. Girls pay more attention to dietetics and snack less than boys. Young adolescentsprefer bland and familiar foods whereas older ones learn to appreciate ‘adult’ foods. As they grow older, children snack more, skip more meals and seem more interested in foreign foods. Before puberty teenagers reject many foods they previously liked. After puberty they begin to appreciate somefoods they didn’t like before. Their food repertoire widens at this period because of social and cognitive intuences. Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Saxon counterparts, have quite similar eating habits as those of adults and usually eat three meals. However, there are some exceptions, e.g. for a small segment of the older adolescent group, presenting risks of nutritional deficiencies or eating disorders. Knowing their eating habits would allow one to make public health recommendations and improve their nutritional behaviour in order to prevent eating disorders and diseases. Other types of studies have focused on food preferences. Hall & Hall (1939) and Einstein & Hornstein (1970) were among the first authors to undertake in depth surveys on large samples of American students. Hall and Hall investigated adolescent aversions to 150 foods. Einstein and Hornstein demonstrated their preferences for 207 foods. This latter study illustrated that a set of familiar foods were classified as favourite foods, principally desserts or meat (ice cream, soft rolls, turkey, beefsteak, milk, orange juice).. The most disliked foods were vegetables (cabbage, pickled beets, eggplant) and offal (liver). In Hall and Hall’s study, alcoholic beverages, offal, vegetables and buttermilk were rejected by many subjects. Similar results were reported by other authors in later American studies (Drewnowski, 1989; Rolls, 1988; Story,
Keywords: Adolescence; puberty food preferences; food habits; changes; age di$erences; gender di$erences.
INTRODUCTION
1989). In these studies, the preferred foods often quoted were ‘fast food’ (hamburgers, soft drinks, chicken, French fries, pizzas, spaghetti, cakes, sweets and pastries, milk). The rejected foods included green vegetables, offal, diet foods, skimmed milk, etc. In France, Fischler St Chiva (1986) and C.R.E.A. (1990) found a nearly identical pattern of preferences in French 12 to 18-year-old adolescents: chocolate, ice cream, berries, beefsteak, and fruit juices were liked; offal, oysters, onions and garlic, alcohol and some vegetables were disliked. The factors of a child’s preferences are well known, due principally to the works of L. L. Birch (1987). According to these studies, food preferences are primarily
brings about many changes at all levels. As far as food intake is concerned, very little is known about the changes of preferences induced by puberty: few market studies have been led for this age group because of its reputation for capriciousness. However, it would be interesting to better understand this period and adolescent habits and preferences which might condition the future choices of these consumers. In recent years, some nutritional studies have measured food choices, nutritional status and consumption of representative samples of French adolescents (AstierAdolescence
is a critical
period
which
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. 251
252
C. Ton Nu et al.
learned as opposed to innate. It is acknowledged that they are primarily determined by cultural factors (Rozin, 1990; Rolls, 1988). Learning continues throughout life, though most of these preferences are formed during childhood. One question is whether puberty would drastically change this so that new lasting preferences might be formed. It is well known that new-born babies have an innate tendency to like sweet solutions and dislike bitter ones (Steiner, 1988). These tendencies are generalized for foods when infants begin to eat. Children and adolescents appear to prefer higher concentrations of sucrose in solution and in foods than adults (Desor et al., 1975; Drewnowski, 1989). During adolescence, some factors influencing eating behaviour play a greater role. In particular, social factors become more important, as teenagers are often constrained by peer pressure and their own desire to be integrated in a group. Similarly, at this time their parents lose some control of their child’s food selection (Claes, 1991). As they acquire more autonomy, young people are exposed to unfamiliar foods. Cognitive factors also play a more influential role during adolescence (Maus & Pudel, 1988). Research has shown that children start to understand how nutrients are incorporated into diet and how they could affect the body at 11-12 years old (Contento, 1981). Conceptualization, ability for abstraction and anticipation appear during puberty and allow children to link foods and health more efficiently, rather than hearing what their parents believe is good or bad for them. The aim of this study was to explore food habits and preferences of a sample of French adolescents. We tried particularly to detect and explain gender- and age-related changes. Variables such as age, gender and socioeconomic status may affect food habits and preferences, as described in several studies. Hall & Hall (1939), Babayan et al. ( 1966), Fischler & Chiva ( 1986)) Rolls (1988), Story (1989), C.R.E.A. (1990) and Walsh (1993) reported gender differences: women presented more food
12-13
aversions than men and had a different pattern of consumption. Age differences appeared also in the surveys of Drewnowski (1989), C.R.E.A. (1990) and Sweeting et al. ( 1994). This is why they are examined in this study: we expected to find more variation in food habits in older adolescents, and an expanding gap between boys and girls as regards dieting, snacking and food preferences. We expected also that food likes and dislikes change when adolescents grow older to become closer to those of adults.
MATERIALSAND
METHODS
Subjects The test group was composed of 222 French adolescents recruited by their parents, who are employed at Nestle France S. A., or recruited by teachers at a school in Montpellier. Their age ranged from 10 to 20 years old (cf. Fig. 1). There were 128 girls and 94 boys living near Paris or in the South of France. Unfortunately, boys over 18 are less numerous than girls. 146 people had reached puberty. Figure 2 shows the distribution of boys and girls who had reached puberty in different age groups. The subjects answered at home a 12-page, self-administered questionnaire and returned it after 1 or 2 weeks.
Questionnaire This questionnaire was intended to explore food habits and preferences of the respondents. It was based on several interviews with teenagers and dealt with their eating behaviour and their food preferences. The questionnaire contained 15 items relating to eating habits (diet, snacking, meal skipping, etc.) and 9 items relating to food preferences (taste preferences, criteria of food choice, etc.) (cf. Appendix). In particular, subjects were asked to quote 10 of their favourite and 10 of their most disliked
14-15
16-17
16-20
Agegroups -
I
FIG. 1. Distribution of subjects by gender and by age. The number of boys and girls in the age groups are balanced except for the 1820 year-olds.
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Prefcences
, -
lo-11
I
14-15
12-13
I
18-20
16-17
hPwJ"P ..-
L_
FIG. 2. Percentage
foods
or
indicate
of our subjects who have reached
beverages,
two
in
the reasons
open
puberty
questions,
and
(by gender and by age).
of the boys answered:
to
girls, whereas
why and the time when they had
33%
‘never’
20% of the boys (see Table
They also reported Finally, they indicated
age on this variable
any change in their preferences. their age, gender, the region where
and brothers reached
profession,
they have
puberty.
the number
and whether
Puberty
or not they had
sometimes’
and 54% of the boys answered:
Girls
much
pay
regardless
boys’ voice changes”. It was a simple definition understandable by children though it might not be very precise.
In addition, (37%
was tested on 15 people and
was sent to 500 candidates.
The
rate of return
of our
13% appear
of
square
Interest
present
our subjects 16-17,
into 5 age groups (10-l
18-20
years).
tests to study the influence
variables
‘never’.
to their
weight
3).
more girls have already been on a diet
of the girls answered: the
“Have boys
‘sometimes’
or ‘often’
you been on a diet?”
(see
more concerned
Table
4)).
Thus
vs. girls
than boys by slimness and
in foreign cooking increases with age: 94%
of the 14-20 14-15,
attention
nutrition.
Data analysis 13,
more
their age (see Table
to the question:
survey was 44%.
We separated
is no effect of
2).
your
was defined as “a period when
the questionnaire
1) . There
(see Table
of the ‘yes’ vs.
in response to the question: “Do you try to control 54% of the girls answered ‘yes, weight?“,
of sisters
you grow taller, when girls have their first periods and the
Finally,
vs. only 6%
of the girls answered
begun to like or dislike these foods.
they live, their parents’
253
on food habits. the significant
on food preferences,
performed
effects.
Then
after coding
Finally,
we only
we examined
year olds say they like exotic cooking
vs. only 77% of the 10-13
year olds (see Table
5).
chi-
of socio-demographic
In the results section
results about food preferences into 61 food categories.
We
1, 12-
the
the responses
we studied the changes
coded into 21 food categories.
TABLE 1. Do you try to balance your alimentation?
Boys
Girls
Yes and I succeed (%) Yes but I don’t succeed (%) Sometimes (“IO) No (%) Chis P
21% 52% 7% 20%
6% 52% 9% 33% 13.5 0.004
RESULTS TABLE
Food habits
2.
Do you try to balance your
10-l 1 12-13
alimentation?
These
results show differences
depending
l
Interest in dietetics girls than in boys
and weight control is greater in
l
in response to the question: “Do you try to balance your alimentation (eat a little of everything)?“, 2 1%
Yes and I succeed (%) Yes but I don’t succeed (%) Sometimes (%) No (%) Chi2 fi
16-17
18-20
18 47 8 27
9 53 13 25
(Age)
on gender and
age.
14-15
7 53 2 38
17 53 7 23
10 53 10 27 9.4 0.67
254
C. Ton Nu et al.
TABLE 3.
TABLE 6.
Do you try to control your weight? Yes (%)
Sometimes (%) No (%) Chi* P
Boys
Girls
15 31 54
26 54 20
Do you eat between meals?
Boys
Girls
28 27 41 4
9 34 52 5
Always (“XI) Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi*
25.7
14.1 0.003
P
Snacking (eating between meals, not including the 5 o’clock meal) is more a male practice than a female one. On the whole, boys snack more often than girls (see Table 6) and there is a tendency for snacking to increase with age (see Table 7). It seems that older adolescents have less structured meals than young adolescents. All but 5% of the adolescents snack (more often sweet foods such as biscuits, fruits or chocolate, and less often cheese, croissants or delicatessen). In general, few subjects skip meals (57% never do it). There is a tendency, though not a significant one, for older children to skip meals more often ( 16% of the 18-20 year olds skip meals often vs. 4% of the 10-l 1 year olds, p = 0.07).
Taste preferences We asked the children to give a mark to four tastes they can find in food (sweet, salty, sour and bitter): - 1 if they didn’t like it, + 1 if they liked it, 0 if they didn’t mind (see question 4 in the appendix). Figure 3 shows the results for the 4 tastes. Adolescents seem to greatly enjoy sweet tastes and to dislike bitter tastes. There is an age-related change regarding the liking of these tastes. For sweetness and bitterness, we observe a tendency: the liking for sweet tastes diminishes
between the ages of 15 and 16 whereas the liking for bitter tastes increases between the ages of 13 and 14. The liking of sour tastes show a large increase with age (ch? = 30.1; p = 0.02%). No effect of gender is observed.
Food preferences
One open question asked children to quote 10 of their favourite foods or beverages (see question 5.1 in the appendix). Results were coded in 61 categories of foods. The 14 most liked categories are shown in Fig. 4. We can see that the most favourite foods are very similar to those quoted in other enquiries about food preferences in adolescents. They are principally sweet foods (chocolate, Coca Cola, ice creams, cakes and pastries, sweets) or simple familiar foods consumed all over the world (pasta, French fries, pizzas...). These favourite foods seem to form a group of foods appreciated in many western countries by most children. We observe that hamburgers are ranked 11 th, after cheese. This may be particular to French eating habits. We didn’t notice any significant effect of socio-demographic variables such as gender, region, social class or number of family members on food preferred. These foods are unanimously liked.
TABLE 4. Have you been on a diet? Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi* P
Ten foods disliked by children were reported and coded in the same way (cf. question 5.2 in appendix and Fig. 5). Results also confirm previous enquiries by showing the same rejected foods: mainly offal (brain, liver, etc.); vegetables, mostly green vegetables (endives, spinach, sprouts, cabbage, etc.); seafood and alcoholic beverages
Girls
Boys 2
12
11 87
25 63 14.8 0.0006
TABLE 7. TABLE 5.
Do you eat between
Do you like foreign cooking? Yes (%) No (%) Chi* P
IO-11
12-13
14-15
1617
78 22
98 2 14.5 0.006
a8 12
12-13
7 3
Always (%) Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi* P
14-15
16-17
18-20
22 27 45 6
15 38 47 0
(Age)
18-20
(he) 77 23
IO-11
meals? 9 22 60 9
17 26 57 0
18 43 31 8 19.2 0.08
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Prefgenccs
r
255
1,oO
(A50
O,W A.
.*
: : .* )x._._._*.‘.---x
-------*-
-0,50
-l,oo
.#’
%.-.-._x*
#’
!
I IO-11
12-13
14-15
15-17
1820
Aw wupo
(-Sweet
_ +-Salty
__+.. Sour _.w._Bitter /
FIG. 3. Liking for the 4 tastes in the different age groups. Children gave a mark to each taste: - 1 if they didn’t like it, + 1 if they liked it, 0 if they didn’t mind. Likings for sweet and salty are not significantly different. Salty is significantly preferred to sour at age 10-13 and 16-17 and sweet is always significantly preferred to sour, except at 18-20. Sour is preferred to bitter from 14 to 20 years. Only the
liking for sour shows a significant increase with age, at 13 years.
including beer. We observe that cheese and fish have an ambivalent status: they are sited as favourite foods as well as rejected foods.
Number of preferences, age of formation and feasons for preferences l
l
In total, all subjects quoted twice as many likes as dislikes. Girls quoted more liked foods, and a few more disliked than boys (chi2 = 3.32, df-1, p <0.07), (cf. Figure 6). We tried to find correlations between the frequency of coexistence of certain likes or dislikes
0%
5% 10%15%
as did Logue & Smith (1986), who calculated the links between frequency of individual likes. However, no pattern of preference was detected. 0 71% of the preferences have been formed early in infancy. For the remaining 29%, the age of manifestation of preference quoted most frequently is age 10. This result must be considered with the greatest of caution because it is based only on the subjects’ memories and statements. Moreover, 10 year olds for instance are less likely to mention any formation of preference at 10. However, in all other age groups, 10 was the age most quoted: it was mentioned by 43% of 12-13 year olds, 49O/ of 14-15
20% 25% 30% 35% 40%45%
50%
FIG.4. The 14 favourite foods most quoted among the 61 categories. Coca Cola refers to the brand quoted by children. Because of its high number of quotations, this brand forms a category in itself.
256
C. Ton Nu et al.
Cd& hkshrooms Cheese own Alcoholic beverages Fish
Percentage of quotation --. FIG. S
l
The 10 disliked foods quoted among the 61 categories.
year olds, 47% of 16-17 year olds and 53% of 1820 year olds. As for the reasons of their preferences, adolescents seem to have difficulties in expressing why they like a food. Sensory reasons (taste, texture, aspect, odour) represent 41% of the quoted reasons, taste being reported in 33% of the cases. It may be easier to describe why a food is disliked: texture, taste, appearance and odour, as well as being sick after consumption of the food appear to explain such aversions. Recipes and ingredients appear to be important also. The mechanism of conditioned aversion reviewed by Pelchat & Rozin (1982), which predicts that ingestion of a novel food followed by nausea would induce a rejection of this food, explains some of these dislikes.
L FIG. 6. Mean number of likes and dislikes quoted by girls and boys. Number of foods liked is not significantly different between girls and boys, neither is number of dislikes, there is a tendency for girls to quote more foods (p = 0.07). Number of likes is significantly larger than number of dislikes.
Food preferences are important because they contribute to food selection in adolescents. We found that personal likes were instrumental in food choice for 91% of the subjects. As for food selection, girls’ choices are more influenced by health, climate, and fat content of the products. Boys pay more attention to the nourishing aspect of food and eat more what is proposed or available to them.
Changes of food preferences We asked the subjects to tell us if and when they began to like some food previously disliked (positive change) and if and when they began to dislike some food previously liked (negative change). They were asked to quote these foods in an empty table and to report the reasons and age of these changes (see questions 17 in appendix). Results were coded in 21 categories of foods. 86% of the subjects reported inversions in their preferences: 595 changes were quoted, the number of positive changes matches nearly the number of negative changes (average number is 1.5). Most changes usually occurred at the age of 10 (p < 0.05). This was one of the ages most quoted by all adolescents except the l&l 1 year-old group (cf. Figure 7). At the ages 12 and 15 the number of changes seem important as well. There is a significant effect of age of the change on the direction of the change. Respondents beyond puberty reported more negative changes taking place before the onset of puberty and more positive changes after puberty (chi2 = 8.6, p = 0.003) (cf. Figure 8). For the whole sample (595 changes of preferences) there is also an age effect: negative changes take place sooner (mean age = lo), whereas positive changes take
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Preferences
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Age
10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
257
19 20
of changes
FIG.7. Age of changes in food preferences: mean number quoted. Cumulated histogram: in each age group, the number of changes quoted is divided by the number of subjects in the group. The age of 10 has been quoted a lot in all groups of age (in particular, it has been most quoted by the 12-13 and the 14-15 year-old groups).
place later (mean age = 11) (p < 0.01 “A). Thus, before puberty, children are more likely to begin to dislike a food they liked previously; after puberty, they are more likely to begin to like a food disliked before. No effect of the gender of the subject on the direction of the change was detected. However, girls quoted more changes than boys (the mean was 1.8 for girls vs. 1.2 for boys). Negative changes concern offal, spinach, fish, seafood, sweets, eggs and delicatessen, and are motivated by weariness or sickness. Positive changes concern vegetables (tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach), condiments (onions, garlic, spices, gherkin), fish, coffee and tea, and they are motivated by social influence or personal decisions to taste some previously disliked food. Some adolescents were initiated by an adult, more often outside the family for the oldest ones; others believe they are
1
FIG. 8. Number of inversions of preferences before and after puberty. People who have reached puberty reported changes in their preferences; more positive changes occur after puberty (76 vs. 47 negative changes) and more negative changes occur before puberty (1 12 vs. 92 positive changes) (chi* 0.3%).
old enough to eat anything and decide to make an effort to taste foods they didn’t like before, Reasons behind changes are different according to the sense of the change: social influences (in 26% of the cases) or cognitive factors (10%) explain positive changes while weariness (41% of the cases) or physiological factors such as nausea (14%) explain negative changes.
DISCUSSION This study allowed us to draw a picture of the food habits and preferences of French adolescents. On the one hand, it demonstrates that adolescents share a set of favourite and disliked foods which is also common to adolescents of other countries. Our results confirm what previous studies have found (Fischler & Chiva, 1986; Rolls, 1988; C.R.E.A., 1990): in France as well as in the United States, there is a group of foods unanimously liked and a group of foods unanimously disliked. All these preferences are formed early in childhood. Foods commonly liked are frequently consumed and have often sweet or bland taste. Familiarity proves to be one of the most efficient factors of child and adult preferences alike (Birch, 1979; Pliner, 1982; Pliner & Pelchat, 199 1). This fact is confirmed by the early formation of these likings in childhood and the familiarity of all the quoted foods. It is interesting to note that preferred foods often have a sweet taste. The finding that adolescents like sweet foods is not revelatory in itself. However, it is important in the consideration that young people eat
258
C. Ton JVU et al.
principally according to their likings and snack more as they grow older. Eating large quantities of fatty foods can contribute to obesity. Foods commonly disliked are mainly vegetables, seafood and offal. Bitter foods are rejected. The fact that adolescents enjoy sweet foods and dislike bitter foods can be explained by an innate preference for sweet tastes and an innate rejection for bitter tastes. In addition, sweet foods are often used as rewards, and Birch et al. (1982) demonstrated that rewarding a child with a food increases his/her preference for that food. This might explain preferences for sweet products. Nevertheless, innate tendencies evolve later, given cultural and educational factors. This is why one starts to appreciate bitter products such as beer, spices or coffee, after initiation (Rozin & Schilier, 1980; Koster, 1992). As Stevenson & Yeomans, 1995 illustrated for chilli pepper, we observe an increase of liking for bitter or strong-tasting foods with experience: older subjects show a stronger preference than do younger ones. We observe that only gender and age influence food preferences and habits. Other variables do not differentiate subjects (region of living, social status of the family, number of sisters and brothers). Andersson et al. (1993) didn’t find differences relative to socio-economic class either. Adolescents preferences seem rather homogeneous in all classes. The gap between girls and boys widens when they grow older, particularly regarding snacking. Some late adolescents progressively have eating habits atypical of the traditional French model of three meals: they snack often, skip meals, pay no attention to the balance of meals, or else, they are unable to take control of their food intake. This group is made up of 3.6% of the sample, in which the mean age is 15.8 years and in which eating disorders have more of a chance to occur. On the other hand, it appears that food repertoire expands during adolescence. Some new preferences are formed due to the growing autonomy of children, their opportunities to eat outside of their family and their desire to enter the adult world. Most of these new preferences have been formed by the age of 10, or more generally between the ages of 10 and 15. However, we must take the responses of the adolescents very cautiously regarding the age of formation and reason of their preferences. Their statements are based on their memories and might be approximate. It would be interesting to conduct a longitudinal study with adolescents in order to confirm these results. Moreover, a longitudinal study would enable us to verify our finding that former dislikes are transformed to likes as adolescents become adults. Anyway, age seems to be a key factor for food behaviour and preferences. Kelder et al. (1994) point out that food choices made during adolescence would probably influence later consumption. It is difficult to distinguish between the different causes of this total change. The evolution of corporal dimensions during puberty combined with social pressures for
slimness have implications on attitudes towards foods and consumption. We found that girls, even the very young ones, are much more preoccupied with body form and weight than boys. This is a common finding: many women feel concerned about this topic and more than 50% of the girls believe themselves to be overweight (Krondl, 1988; Wardle & Beales, 1986; Rappoport et al., 1993; Baudier, 1988; Ledoux & Choquet, 1991). Worsley et al. (1984) mention that 9 to 11 year-old girls are aware of weight and slimness, and Dennison & Shepherd ( 1995) add that dieting begins as early as 9-10 years old. As a result, girls may try to like vegetables because they are not too fattening. As children grow older, they are also more able to understand the links between food and body, and the effects of nutrients on health and weight. Their attitudes, toward sweet foods in particular, can change. While their preference remains stable, their consumption may decrease (Drewnowski, 1989; Sweeting et al., 1994), and a change in consumption might induce a change in preferences. Finally, social factors become increasingly influential and teenagers are tempted to eat foods which distinguish them from adults: hamburgers, soft drinks, etc. On the other hand, their desire to enter the adult world makes them taste some disliked foods (alcoholic beverages, coffee, onions, spices), which they begin to appreciate little by little. This kind of initiation can create stable preferences (Koster, 1992; Rozin & Schilier, 1980). In conclusion, adolescence seems to induce changes regarding food preferences and habits. One of them is a wider set of foods liked and consumed that was not liked or consumed before puberty. We can speculate whether this augmentation of the food repertoire is due to a decrease of food neophobia in adolescents. Food neophobia is the reluctance to eat novel foods and/or the avoidance of novel foods (Pliner & Hobden, 1992) and it has rarely been studied in adolescents. In many studies, authors have found a decrease of neophobia with age: in children less than 10 years old (Birch, 1979; Pelchat & Pliner, 1987 quoted by Pliner, 1994), and in adults (Otis, 1984; Pliner & Hobden, 1992; Pelchat & Pliner, 1995). The reduction of neophobia might explain the widening of the food repertoire during adolescence. Future research should examine this topic in order to explain food choices among novel and familiar foods during adolescence.
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Fischler, C. & Chiva, M. (1986). Food likes, dislikes and some of their correlates in a sample of French children and young adults. In Measurements and Determinants of Food Habits and Food Prefmences, ed. J. M. Diehi & C. Leitzmann, Euronut report 7. The Nederlands Nutrition Foundation, Wageningen, pp 137-156. Hall, I. S. & Hall, C. S. (1939). A study of disliked and unfamiliar foods. 3. Am. Diet Assoc., 15, 540-548. Kelder, S. H., Perry, C. L., Klepp, K. I. & Lytie, L. L. (1994). Longitudinal tracking of adolescent smoking, physical activity, and food choice behaviors. Am. 3. Pub. Health, 84, 7, 1121-1126.
Koster, E. P. (1992). Les facteurs des prC&ences des consommateurs. Le dynamisme des prt&ences. Con&ence IFN du 30/06/92: La perception des aromes: Aspects physiologiques et psychologiques. Paris. Krondl, M. (1988). Food habits determinants of North American adolescents: nutritional implications. Colloque International sur I’Alimentation, 26-05-88, La Revue du Praticien, 29, 2183-2184 ou CIDIL, Paris, pp. 11 l-117.
259
Ledoux, S. & Choquet, M. (1991). “Les 1 l-20 ans et leur sand. I/ Les troubles des conduites alimentaires”. Analyses et prospective. INSERM. La Documentation Francaise, Paris. Logue, A. W. & Smith, M. E. (1986). Predictors of food preferences in adult humans. Ap~ctite, 7, 109-125. Maus, N. & Pudel, V. (1988). Psychological determinants of food intake. In Food Acccptabili&, ed. D. M. H. Thomson, Elsevier Applied Science, pp. 181-192. Michaud, C. & Baudier, F. (1991). Habitudes et consommations alimentaires des adolescents francaisz synth&se d’enquctes recentes. Archives Franfaises de Pidiatrie, 48(7), 475-479. Otis, I. P. (1984). Factors influencing the willingness to taste unusual foods. Psychol. Rep., 54, 739-745. Pelchat, M. L. & Roam, P. (1982). The special role of nausea in the acquisition of food dislikes by humans. Appctitc, 3,341-35 1. Pelchat, M. L. & Pliner, P. (1995). Try it. You’ll like it. Effects of information on willingness to try novel foods. Appetite, 24(2), 153-165. Pliner, P. (1982). The effects of mere exposure on liking for edible substances. Appetite, 3, 283-290. Pliner, P. (1994). Development of measures of food neophobia in children. Appetite, 23(2), 147-163. Pliner, P. & Hobden, K. (1992). Development of a scale to measure the trait of food neophobia in humans. Appetite, 19(2), 105-120. Pliner, P. & Pelchat, M. L. (1991). Neophobia in humans and the special status of foods of animal origin. Appetite, 16(3), 205-218. Rappoport, L., Peters, G. R., Downey, R., McCann, T. & Huff-Corzine, L. (1993). Gender and differences in food cognition. Appetite, 20, 33-52. Rolls, B. J. (1988). Food beliefs and food choices in adolescents. Med. 3. Aust., 148suppl. S9-13. Rozin, P. (1990). Acquisition of stable food preferences. .&hition Rev., 48, 106-l 13. Rozin, P. & Schilier, D. (1980). The nature and acquisition of a preference for chili pepper by humans. Motivation and Emotion, 4(l),
77-101.
Steiner, J. E. (1988). Sweet and bitter in the mirror of behaviour. In Food Acceptability, ed. D. M. H. Thomson, Elsevier Applied Science, pp 157-171. Stevenson, R. J. & Yeomans, M. R. (1995). Does exposure enhance liking for the chilli burn? Appetite, 24(2), 107-120. Story, M. (1989). A perspective on adolescent lifestyle and eating behavior. Nutrition News, 52, l-3. Sweeting, H., Anderson, A. & West, P. (1994). Socio-demographic correlates of dietary habits in mid to late adolescence. Eur. 3. Clin. Nutr., 48( lo), 736-748. Walsh, L. M. (1993). “I don’t like it, I never tried it” in young adults. Appetite, 20(2), 147. Wardle, J. & Beales, S. (1986). Restraint, body image and food attitudes in children from 12 to 18 years. Appetite, 7,209-217. Worsley, A., Baghurst, P., Worsley, A. J., Coonan, W. & Peters, M. (1984). La perception des prod&s alimentaires par des enfants australiens ages de 10 ans. (I. Sex differences). Ecol. Food N&r., 15(3) 231-246, 247-257.
260
C. Ton .Nu et al.
5) Fill this board and write down
APPENDIX
(a) YOUR FAVOURITE FOODS (they might be beverages or dishes but you must love them), QUOTE MAXIMUM 10 FOODS. (b) WHY you like them, (c) SINCE WHEN you have liked them (if you don’t know, write: ?, if it’s for a very long time, write: always)
Questionnaire about food preferences of adolescents (its length has been reduced for publication) The Sensory Analysis Laboratory of Nestle France is starting a study about food preferences in adolescents as part of a PhD research project. We are sending a questionnaire to 500 teenagers. This questionnaire is aimed to increase our knowledge of their likings and food habits. It will be useful to know how food preferences are formed, when and in which context they are formed, and if these preferences are stable. This questionnaire is strictly confidential. Answering to this questionnaire is not an obligation. If you are between 10 and 20 and you want to answer this questionnaire, you must tick one or several spaces for each question and add any commentary. You can ask your parents to help you if you have any problem. I)
Do l l
Example: Foods you like very much Sweets
l l l
Do you fry to controlyour l l l
Example: Foods you dislike very much Sweets Foods you dislike very much
Observations:
YES SOMETIMES NO
l l l l
Age
Why?
Age
Because they are too sweet
12
Why?
Age
ALWAYS SOMETIMES RARELY NEVER (if you tick: ‘Never’, go to question’ll)
Observations:
3) Do you like foreign cooking? l
Why?
6) Are you (or were you) forced to eat what you don’t like-to?
weight?
Observations:
l
Always
(a) THE FOODS YOU HATE (those you can’t swallow, or only with disgust), QUOTE MAXIMUM 10 FOODS. (b) WHY you dislike them, (c) SINCE WHEN you have disliked them (if you don’t know, write: ?, if it’s for a very long time, write: always)
YES NO
YES AND I SUCCEED YES BUT I DON’T SUCCEED SOMETIMES NEVER
Because they’re sweet
Fill this board, and write down
Observations:
l
Age
Foods you like very much
you like to try novel dishes, unknown foods?
2) Do you try to balance your a/j~en~a~ion (eat a little of everything) ?
Why?
Ifyou
YES NO
are (or were) forced to eat, which foods are concerned?
What happens when you are forced to eat?
Observations:
l
I EAT (OR I USED TO EAT) I DON’T EAT (OR I DIDN’T EAT)
4) What do you think of the following tastes (tick the spaces) ?
l
Tastes Salty Sweet Sour (like lemon) Bitter (as coffee)
Observations:
I like it
I don’t mind
I don’t like it
USED
TO
Ifyou were forced before and not now any more, since which age have you been forced
-
years Observations:
261
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Preferences
7) Do you think you are finicky about your food choices? l l
How many sisters do you have? If you have some, do you have approximately preferences as your sister(s)?
YES NO
l l
Why?
the same food
YES NO
Observations: 8)
What
are your best memories about food (quote
2 or 3)?
10)
Think at holidays, foods, etc. Write down:
meals with family
or friends,
festive
PLACES On a tree, in a garden at Marseille
l
PERSONS At friend’s
What areyour worst memories aboutfood
Think at some diseases FOODS PLACES Example: In the A fondue Alpes
l l
(a) foods concerned, (b) places you were, (c) persons who were with you, (d) others circumstances, (e) your age (if you don’t know, write.?) FOODS Example: Cherry
l
FRUITS CHOCOLATE YOGHURTS CHEESE BISCUITS OR CAKES CEREALS OR CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS DELICATESSEN OTHER (WHAT?)
AGE OTHER Every year Since 12
(quote 2 or 3)
9) Food preferences of your family members.
l
Tell us where and when you snack
the same food preferences
as your
l
l
Observations:
l l l
the same food preferences
as your
OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER
Observations:
13) Have you had some health problem related to food (digestion. appetite, etc.)
YES NO
l
YES NO
l
How many brothers do you have?
If yes, which ones?
Zf you have some, do you haue approximately preferences as your brother(s)?
l
YES NO
Observations:
.
OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER
Observations:
l
BARS
12) Have you been on a diet?
Observations:
l
11)
11) Do you skip meals?
l
YES NO
Do you have approximately mother?
ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER (if you tick: ‘Never’, go to question
When you snack, what do you eat?
l
l
you eat between meals?
Observations:
caused by food, etc. AGE PERSONS OTHER I was sick 7 With my family and now it disgusts me
Do you have approximately father?
Do
the same food
14)
How
do you choose your foods?
You can tick several spaces.
I select my foods according l l
to:
WHAT I LIKE THE TIME I HAVE TO EAT
C. Ton Nu et al. THE WEATHER WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO EAT THE CALORIES THEY CONTAIN (NOT TOO FATTENING) THEIR PRICE THEIR QUALITY (FRESHNESS..) THEIR ABILITY TO SATIATE ME THEIR CONVENIENCE MY HUNGER OR MY TIREDNESS WHAT IS GOOD FOR HEALTH I EAT ANYTHING THAT IS GIVEN TO ME OTHERS (WHAT?) Observations: 15)
Describe your favourite meal
Why?
It’s when you grow tall, when girls have their first periods and the voice of boys changes. You can ask your parents. years Observations:
Which foods didyou dislike previously that you like now?
(a) foods (4 OR 5 MAXIMUM) (b) why you changed your preference (c) At what age? Example: Before I didn’t like +now I like Onions
-
NAME: SEX: Boy/Girl AGE: SCHOOL FORM ADDRESS: DO YOU LIVE:
l
ALONE WITH YOUR OTHER
l
7 7)
Principal changes in your food preferences since your childhood
l
Which foods didyou like previously that you hate now?
Write: (a) foods (4 OR 5 MAXIMUM) (b) why you changed your preference (c) At what age?
Why?
Age
I’ve eaten too many
9
Age
Write
Why?
Age
A friend made me appreciate
13
Why?
Age
Before I didn’t like *now I like
16) When did your puberty start?
Example: Before I liked it *now I dislike it Pickles
Before I liked it +now I dislike it
(OR PROFESSION):
PARENTS
- IN WHICH REGION DID YOU LIVE WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD? (WHEN?) - WHAT ENTS? Father: Mother:
IS THE
PROFESSION
- FROM COME? Father: Mother:
WHICH
REGION
OF YOUR
DO YOUR
MOST
PAR-
PARENTS
PIIr
ELSEVIER
?30950.3293(96)00023-7
and PrcfcrcnccVol. 7, No. 3/4, pp. 251-262, 1996 Copyright 0 19% Elrmier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights resewed o!zo-3293/96 $15.00 + 0.00
EFFECTSOFAGEANDGENDERONADOLESCENTS'FOOD HABITSANDPREFERENCES ChristineTon *Laboratoire
devaluation
Nu,~~* Patrick MacLeodC & Jacques Barthelemyb
“ENGREF, 19 avenue du Maine, 75732, Paris cedex 15, France Sensorielle Nestle France, 7 Bd Pierre Carle. Noisiel, 77446, Marne “EPHE, 1 avenue des Olympiades, 91305, Massy, France
la VallCe cedex 2, France
(Accepted 5 November 1995)
Dumas et al., 1980; Michaud & Baudier, 1991; Andersson et al., 1993). Michaud & Baudier ( 199 1)) in their review of nutritional studies conducted in France since
ABSTRACT
1988, found adolescents’ eating behaviour to be relatively healthy. French teenagers, unlike their Anglo-
This study explored food habits and preferences of 222 French adolescents of 10 to 20 years old. They completed a questionnaire about their eating habits and quoted 10 of their favourite and 10 of their most disliked foods or beverages. They also mentioned any change in their preferences. These results show thatfood habits and tastes are mostly related to age and gender. Girls pay more attention to dietetics and snack less than boys. Young adolescentsprefer bland and familiar foods whereas older ones learn to appreciate ‘adult’ foods. As they grow older, children snack more, skip more meals and seem more interested in foreign foods. Before puberty teenagers reject many foods they previously liked. After puberty they begin to appreciate somefoods they didn’t like before. Their food repertoire widens at this period because of social and cognitive intuences. Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Saxon counterparts, have quite similar eating habits as those of adults and usually eat three meals. However, there are some exceptions, e.g. for a small segment of the older adolescent group, presenting risks of nutritional deficiencies or eating disorders. Knowing their eating habits would allow one to make public health recommendations and improve their nutritional behaviour in order to prevent eating disorders and diseases. Other types of studies have focused on food preferences. Hall & Hall (1939) and Einstein & Hornstein (1970) were among the first authors to undertake in depth surveys on large samples of American students. Hall and Hall investigated adolescent aversions to 150 foods. Einstein and Hornstein demonstrated their preferences for 207 foods. This latter study illustrated that a set of familiar foods were classified as favourite foods, principally desserts or meat (ice cream, soft rolls, turkey, beefsteak, milk, orange juice).. The most disliked foods were vegetables (cabbage, pickled beets, eggplant) and offal (liver). In Hall and Hall’s study, alcoholic beverages, offal, vegetables and buttermilk were rejected by many subjects. Similar results were reported by other authors in later American studies (Drewnowski, 1989; Rolls, 1988; Story,
Keywords: Adolescence; puberty food preferences; food habits; changes; age di$erences; gender di$erences.
INTRODUCTION
1989). In these studies, the preferred foods often quoted were ‘fast food’ (hamburgers, soft drinks, chicken, French fries, pizzas, spaghetti, cakes, sweets and pastries, milk). The rejected foods included green vegetables, offal, diet foods, skimmed milk, etc. In France, Fischler St Chiva (1986) and C.R.E.A. (1990) found a nearly identical pattern of preferences in French 12 to 18-year-old adolescents: chocolate, ice cream, berries, beefsteak, and fruit juices were liked; offal, oysters, onions and garlic, alcohol and some vegetables were disliked. The factors of a child’s preferences are well known, due principally to the works of L. L. Birch (1987). According to these studies, food preferences are primarily
brings about many changes at all levels. As far as food intake is concerned, very little is known about the changes of preferences induced by puberty: few market studies have been led for this age group because of its reputation for capriciousness. However, it would be interesting to better understand this period and adolescent habits and preferences which might condition the future choices of these consumers. In recent years, some nutritional studies have measured food choices, nutritional status and consumption of representative samples of French adolescents (AstierAdolescence
is a critical
period
which
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. 251
252
C. Ton Nu et al.
learned as opposed to innate. It is acknowledged that they are primarily determined by cultural factors (Rozin, 1990; Rolls, 1988). Learning continues throughout life, though most of these preferences are formed during childhood. One question is whether puberty would drastically change this so that new lasting preferences might be formed. It is well known that new-born babies have an innate tendency to like sweet solutions and dislike bitter ones (Steiner, 1988). These tendencies are generalized for foods when infants begin to eat. Children and adolescents appear to prefer higher concentrations of sucrose in solution and in foods than adults (Desor et al., 1975; Drewnowski, 1989). During adolescence, some factors influencing eating behaviour play a greater role. In particular, social factors become more important, as teenagers are often constrained by peer pressure and their own desire to be integrated in a group. Similarly, at this time their parents lose some control of their child’s food selection (Claes, 1991). As they acquire more autonomy, young people are exposed to unfamiliar foods. Cognitive factors also play a more influential role during adolescence (Maus & Pudel, 1988). Research has shown that children start to understand how nutrients are incorporated into diet and how they could affect the body at 11-12 years old (Contento, 1981). Conceptualization, ability for abstraction and anticipation appear during puberty and allow children to link foods and health more efficiently, rather than hearing what their parents believe is good or bad for them. The aim of this study was to explore food habits and preferences of a sample of French adolescents. We tried particularly to detect and explain gender- and age-related changes. Variables such as age, gender and socioeconomic status may affect food habits and preferences, as described in several studies. Hall & Hall (1939), Babayan et al. ( 1966), Fischler & Chiva ( 1986)) Rolls (1988), Story (1989), C.R.E.A. (1990) and Walsh (1993) reported gender differences: women presented more food
12-13
aversions than men and had a different pattern of consumption. Age differences appeared also in the surveys of Drewnowski (1989), C.R.E.A. (1990) and Sweeting et al. ( 1994). This is why they are examined in this study: we expected to find more variation in food habits in older adolescents, and an expanding gap between boys and girls as regards dieting, snacking and food preferences. We expected also that food likes and dislikes change when adolescents grow older to become closer to those of adults.
MATERIALSAND
METHODS
Subjects The test group was composed of 222 French adolescents recruited by their parents, who are employed at Nestle France S. A., or recruited by teachers at a school in Montpellier. Their age ranged from 10 to 20 years old (cf. Fig. 1). There were 128 girls and 94 boys living near Paris or in the South of France. Unfortunately, boys over 18 are less numerous than girls. 146 people had reached puberty. Figure 2 shows the distribution of boys and girls who had reached puberty in different age groups. The subjects answered at home a 12-page, self-administered questionnaire and returned it after 1 or 2 weeks.
Questionnaire This questionnaire was intended to explore food habits and preferences of the respondents. It was based on several interviews with teenagers and dealt with their eating behaviour and their food preferences. The questionnaire contained 15 items relating to eating habits (diet, snacking, meal skipping, etc.) and 9 items relating to food preferences (taste preferences, criteria of food choice, etc.) (cf. Appendix). In particular, subjects were asked to quote 10 of their favourite and 10 of their most disliked
14-15
16-17
16-20
Agegroups -
I
FIG. 1. Distribution of subjects by gender and by age. The number of boys and girls in the age groups are balanced except for the 1820 year-olds.
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Prefcences
, -
lo-11
I
14-15
12-13
I
18-20
16-17
hPwJ"P ..-
L_
FIG. 2. Percentage
foods
or
indicate
of our subjects who have reached
beverages,
two
in
the reasons
open
puberty
questions,
and
(by gender and by age).
of the boys answered:
to
girls, whereas
why and the time when they had
33%
‘never’
20% of the boys (see Table
They also reported Finally, they indicated
age on this variable
any change in their preferences. their age, gender, the region where
and brothers reached
profession,
they have
puberty.
the number
and whether
Puberty
or not they had
sometimes’
and 54% of the boys answered:
Girls
much
pay
regardless
boys’ voice changes”. It was a simple definition understandable by children though it might not be very precise.
In addition, (37%
was tested on 15 people and
was sent to 500 candidates.
The
rate of return
of our
13% appear
of
square
Interest
present
our subjects 16-17,
into 5 age groups (10-l
18-20
years).
tests to study the influence
variables
‘never’.
to their
weight
3).
more girls have already been on a diet
of the girls answered: the
“Have boys
‘sometimes’
or ‘often’
you been on a diet?”
(see
more concerned
Table
4)).
Thus
vs. girls
than boys by slimness and
in foreign cooking increases with age: 94%
of the 14-20 14-15,
attention
nutrition.
Data analysis 13,
more
their age (see Table
to the question:
survey was 44%.
We separated
is no effect of
2).
your
was defined as “a period when
the questionnaire
1) . There
(see Table
of the ‘yes’ vs.
in response to the question: “Do you try to control 54% of the girls answered ‘yes, weight?“,
of sisters
you grow taller, when girls have their first periods and the
Finally,
vs. only 6%
of the girls answered
begun to like or dislike these foods.
they live, their parents’
253
on food habits. the significant
on food preferences,
performed
effects.
Then
after coding
Finally,
we only
we examined
year olds say they like exotic cooking
vs. only 77% of the 10-13
year olds (see Table
5).
chi-
of socio-demographic
In the results section
results about food preferences into 61 food categories.
We
1, 12-
the
the responses
we studied the changes
coded into 21 food categories.
TABLE 1. Do you try to balance your alimentation?
Boys
Girls
Yes and I succeed (%) Yes but I don’t succeed (%) Sometimes (“IO) No (%) Chis P
21% 52% 7% 20%
6% 52% 9% 33% 13.5 0.004
RESULTS TABLE
Food habits
2.
Do you try to balance your
10-l 1 12-13
alimentation?
These
results show differences
depending
l
Interest in dietetics girls than in boys
and weight control is greater in
l
in response to the question: “Do you try to balance your alimentation (eat a little of everything)?“, 2 1%
Yes and I succeed (%) Yes but I don’t succeed (%) Sometimes (%) No (%) Chi2 fi
16-17
18-20
18 47 8 27
9 53 13 25
(Age)
on gender and
age.
14-15
7 53 2 38
17 53 7 23
10 53 10 27 9.4 0.67
254
C. Ton Nu et al.
TABLE 3.
TABLE 6.
Do you try to control your weight? Yes (%)
Sometimes (%) No (%) Chi* P
Boys
Girls
15 31 54
26 54 20
Do you eat between meals?
Boys
Girls
28 27 41 4
9 34 52 5
Always (“XI) Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi*
25.7
14.1 0.003
P
Snacking (eating between meals, not including the 5 o’clock meal) is more a male practice than a female one. On the whole, boys snack more often than girls (see Table 6) and there is a tendency for snacking to increase with age (see Table 7). It seems that older adolescents have less structured meals than young adolescents. All but 5% of the adolescents snack (more often sweet foods such as biscuits, fruits or chocolate, and less often cheese, croissants or delicatessen). In general, few subjects skip meals (57% never do it). There is a tendency, though not a significant one, for older children to skip meals more often ( 16% of the 18-20 year olds skip meals often vs. 4% of the 10-l 1 year olds, p = 0.07).
Taste preferences We asked the children to give a mark to four tastes they can find in food (sweet, salty, sour and bitter): - 1 if they didn’t like it, + 1 if they liked it, 0 if they didn’t mind (see question 4 in the appendix). Figure 3 shows the results for the 4 tastes. Adolescents seem to greatly enjoy sweet tastes and to dislike bitter tastes. There is an age-related change regarding the liking of these tastes. For sweetness and bitterness, we observe a tendency: the liking for sweet tastes diminishes
between the ages of 15 and 16 whereas the liking for bitter tastes increases between the ages of 13 and 14. The liking of sour tastes show a large increase with age (ch? = 30.1; p = 0.02%). No effect of gender is observed.
Food preferences
One open question asked children to quote 10 of their favourite foods or beverages (see question 5.1 in the appendix). Results were coded in 61 categories of foods. The 14 most liked categories are shown in Fig. 4. We can see that the most favourite foods are very similar to those quoted in other enquiries about food preferences in adolescents. They are principally sweet foods (chocolate, Coca Cola, ice creams, cakes and pastries, sweets) or simple familiar foods consumed all over the world (pasta, French fries, pizzas...). These favourite foods seem to form a group of foods appreciated in many western countries by most children. We observe that hamburgers are ranked 11 th, after cheese. This may be particular to French eating habits. We didn’t notice any significant effect of socio-demographic variables such as gender, region, social class or number of family members on food preferred. These foods are unanimously liked.
TABLE 4. Have you been on a diet? Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi* P
Ten foods disliked by children were reported and coded in the same way (cf. question 5.2 in appendix and Fig. 5). Results also confirm previous enquiries by showing the same rejected foods: mainly offal (brain, liver, etc.); vegetables, mostly green vegetables (endives, spinach, sprouts, cabbage, etc.); seafood and alcoholic beverages
Girls
Boys 2
12
11 87
25 63 14.8 0.0006
TABLE 7. TABLE 5.
Do you eat between
Do you like foreign cooking? Yes (%) No (%) Chi* P
IO-11
12-13
14-15
1617
78 22
98 2 14.5 0.006
a8 12
12-13
7 3
Always (%) Often (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Chi* P
14-15
16-17
18-20
22 27 45 6
15 38 47 0
(Age)
18-20
(he) 77 23
IO-11
meals? 9 22 60 9
17 26 57 0
18 43 31 8 19.2 0.08
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Prefgenccs
r
255
1,oO
(A50
O,W A.
.*
: : .* )x._._._*.‘.---x
-------*-
-0,50
-l,oo
.#’
%.-.-._x*
#’
!
I IO-11
12-13
14-15
15-17
1820
Aw wupo
(-Sweet
_ +-Salty
__+.. Sour _.w._Bitter /
FIG. 3. Liking for the 4 tastes in the different age groups. Children gave a mark to each taste: - 1 if they didn’t like it, + 1 if they liked it, 0 if they didn’t mind. Likings for sweet and salty are not significantly different. Salty is significantly preferred to sour at age 10-13 and 16-17 and sweet is always significantly preferred to sour, except at 18-20. Sour is preferred to bitter from 14 to 20 years. Only the
liking for sour shows a significant increase with age, at 13 years.
including beer. We observe that cheese and fish have an ambivalent status: they are sited as favourite foods as well as rejected foods.
Number of preferences, age of formation and feasons for preferences l
l
In total, all subjects quoted twice as many likes as dislikes. Girls quoted more liked foods, and a few more disliked than boys (chi2 = 3.32, df-1, p <0.07), (cf. Figure 6). We tried to find correlations between the frequency of coexistence of certain likes or dislikes
0%
5% 10%15%
as did Logue & Smith (1986), who calculated the links between frequency of individual likes. However, no pattern of preference was detected. 0 71% of the preferences have been formed early in infancy. For the remaining 29%, the age of manifestation of preference quoted most frequently is age 10. This result must be considered with the greatest of caution because it is based only on the subjects’ memories and statements. Moreover, 10 year olds for instance are less likely to mention any formation of preference at 10. However, in all other age groups, 10 was the age most quoted: it was mentioned by 43% of 12-13 year olds, 49O/ of 14-15
20% 25% 30% 35% 40%45%
50%
FIG.4. The 14 favourite foods most quoted among the 61 categories. Coca Cola refers to the brand quoted by children. Because of its high number of quotations, this brand forms a category in itself.
256
C. Ton Nu et al.
Cd& hkshrooms Cheese own Alcoholic beverages Fish
Percentage of quotation --. FIG. S
l
The 10 disliked foods quoted among the 61 categories.
year olds, 47% of 16-17 year olds and 53% of 1820 year olds. As for the reasons of their preferences, adolescents seem to have difficulties in expressing why they like a food. Sensory reasons (taste, texture, aspect, odour) represent 41% of the quoted reasons, taste being reported in 33% of the cases. It may be easier to describe why a food is disliked: texture, taste, appearance and odour, as well as being sick after consumption of the food appear to explain such aversions. Recipes and ingredients appear to be important also. The mechanism of conditioned aversion reviewed by Pelchat & Rozin (1982), which predicts that ingestion of a novel food followed by nausea would induce a rejection of this food, explains some of these dislikes.
L FIG. 6. Mean number of likes and dislikes quoted by girls and boys. Number of foods liked is not significantly different between girls and boys, neither is number of dislikes, there is a tendency for girls to quote more foods (p = 0.07). Number of likes is significantly larger than number of dislikes.
Food preferences are important because they contribute to food selection in adolescents. We found that personal likes were instrumental in food choice for 91% of the subjects. As for food selection, girls’ choices are more influenced by health, climate, and fat content of the products. Boys pay more attention to the nourishing aspect of food and eat more what is proposed or available to them.
Changes of food preferences We asked the subjects to tell us if and when they began to like some food previously disliked (positive change) and if and when they began to dislike some food previously liked (negative change). They were asked to quote these foods in an empty table and to report the reasons and age of these changes (see questions 17 in appendix). Results were coded in 21 categories of foods. 86% of the subjects reported inversions in their preferences: 595 changes were quoted, the number of positive changes matches nearly the number of negative changes (average number is 1.5). Most changes usually occurred at the age of 10 (p < 0.05). This was one of the ages most quoted by all adolescents except the l&l 1 year-old group (cf. Figure 7). At the ages 12 and 15 the number of changes seem important as well. There is a significant effect of age of the change on the direction of the change. Respondents beyond puberty reported more negative changes taking place before the onset of puberty and more positive changes after puberty (chi2 = 8.6, p = 0.003) (cf. Figure 8). For the whole sample (595 changes of preferences) there is also an age effect: negative changes take place sooner (mean age = lo), whereas positive changes take
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Preferences
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Age
10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
257
19 20
of changes
FIG.7. Age of changes in food preferences: mean number quoted. Cumulated histogram: in each age group, the number of changes quoted is divided by the number of subjects in the group. The age of 10 has been quoted a lot in all groups of age (in particular, it has been most quoted by the 12-13 and the 14-15 year-old groups).
place later (mean age = 11) (p < 0.01 “A). Thus, before puberty, children are more likely to begin to dislike a food they liked previously; after puberty, they are more likely to begin to like a food disliked before. No effect of the gender of the subject on the direction of the change was detected. However, girls quoted more changes than boys (the mean was 1.8 for girls vs. 1.2 for boys). Negative changes concern offal, spinach, fish, seafood, sweets, eggs and delicatessen, and are motivated by weariness or sickness. Positive changes concern vegetables (tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach), condiments (onions, garlic, spices, gherkin), fish, coffee and tea, and they are motivated by social influence or personal decisions to taste some previously disliked food. Some adolescents were initiated by an adult, more often outside the family for the oldest ones; others believe they are
1
FIG. 8. Number of inversions of preferences before and after puberty. People who have reached puberty reported changes in their preferences; more positive changes occur after puberty (76 vs. 47 negative changes) and more negative changes occur before puberty (1 12 vs. 92 positive changes) (chi* 0.3%).
old enough to eat anything and decide to make an effort to taste foods they didn’t like before, Reasons behind changes are different according to the sense of the change: social influences (in 26% of the cases) or cognitive factors (10%) explain positive changes while weariness (41% of the cases) or physiological factors such as nausea (14%) explain negative changes.
DISCUSSION This study allowed us to draw a picture of the food habits and preferences of French adolescents. On the one hand, it demonstrates that adolescents share a set of favourite and disliked foods which is also common to adolescents of other countries. Our results confirm what previous studies have found (Fischler & Chiva, 1986; Rolls, 1988; C.R.E.A., 1990): in France as well as in the United States, there is a group of foods unanimously liked and a group of foods unanimously disliked. All these preferences are formed early in childhood. Foods commonly liked are frequently consumed and have often sweet or bland taste. Familiarity proves to be one of the most efficient factors of child and adult preferences alike (Birch, 1979; Pliner, 1982; Pliner & Pelchat, 199 1). This fact is confirmed by the early formation of these likings in childhood and the familiarity of all the quoted foods. It is interesting to note that preferred foods often have a sweet taste. The finding that adolescents like sweet foods is not revelatory in itself. However, it is important in the consideration that young people eat
258
C. Ton JVU et al.
principally according to their likings and snack more as they grow older. Eating large quantities of fatty foods can contribute to obesity. Foods commonly disliked are mainly vegetables, seafood and offal. Bitter foods are rejected. The fact that adolescents enjoy sweet foods and dislike bitter foods can be explained by an innate preference for sweet tastes and an innate rejection for bitter tastes. In addition, sweet foods are often used as rewards, and Birch et al. (1982) demonstrated that rewarding a child with a food increases his/her preference for that food. This might explain preferences for sweet products. Nevertheless, innate tendencies evolve later, given cultural and educational factors. This is why one starts to appreciate bitter products such as beer, spices or coffee, after initiation (Rozin & Schilier, 1980; Koster, 1992). As Stevenson & Yeomans, 1995 illustrated for chilli pepper, we observe an increase of liking for bitter or strong-tasting foods with experience: older subjects show a stronger preference than do younger ones. We observe that only gender and age influence food preferences and habits. Other variables do not differentiate subjects (region of living, social status of the family, number of sisters and brothers). Andersson et al. (1993) didn’t find differences relative to socio-economic class either. Adolescents preferences seem rather homogeneous in all classes. The gap between girls and boys widens when they grow older, particularly regarding snacking. Some late adolescents progressively have eating habits atypical of the traditional French model of three meals: they snack often, skip meals, pay no attention to the balance of meals, or else, they are unable to take control of their food intake. This group is made up of 3.6% of the sample, in which the mean age is 15.8 years and in which eating disorders have more of a chance to occur. On the other hand, it appears that food repertoire expands during adolescence. Some new preferences are formed due to the growing autonomy of children, their opportunities to eat outside of their family and their desire to enter the adult world. Most of these new preferences have been formed by the age of 10, or more generally between the ages of 10 and 15. However, we must take the responses of the adolescents very cautiously regarding the age of formation and reason of their preferences. Their statements are based on their memories and might be approximate. It would be interesting to conduct a longitudinal study with adolescents in order to confirm these results. Moreover, a longitudinal study would enable us to verify our finding that former dislikes are transformed to likes as adolescents become adults. Anyway, age seems to be a key factor for food behaviour and preferences. Kelder et al. (1994) point out that food choices made during adolescence would probably influence later consumption. It is difficult to distinguish between the different causes of this total change. The evolution of corporal dimensions during puberty combined with social pressures for
slimness have implications on attitudes towards foods and consumption. We found that girls, even the very young ones, are much more preoccupied with body form and weight than boys. This is a common finding: many women feel concerned about this topic and more than 50% of the girls believe themselves to be overweight (Krondl, 1988; Wardle & Beales, 1986; Rappoport et al., 1993; Baudier, 1988; Ledoux & Choquet, 1991). Worsley et al. (1984) mention that 9 to 11 year-old girls are aware of weight and slimness, and Dennison & Shepherd ( 1995) add that dieting begins as early as 9-10 years old. As a result, girls may try to like vegetables because they are not too fattening. As children grow older, they are also more able to understand the links between food and body, and the effects of nutrients on health and weight. Their attitudes, toward sweet foods in particular, can change. While their preference remains stable, their consumption may decrease (Drewnowski, 1989; Sweeting et al., 1994), and a change in consumption might induce a change in preferences. Finally, social factors become increasingly influential and teenagers are tempted to eat foods which distinguish them from adults: hamburgers, soft drinks, etc. On the other hand, their desire to enter the adult world makes them taste some disliked foods (alcoholic beverages, coffee, onions, spices), which they begin to appreciate little by little. This kind of initiation can create stable preferences (Koster, 1992; Rozin & Schilier, 1980). In conclusion, adolescence seems to induce changes regarding food preferences and habits. One of them is a wider set of foods liked and consumed that was not liked or consumed before puberty. We can speculate whether this augmentation of the food repertoire is due to a decrease of food neophobia in adolescents. Food neophobia is the reluctance to eat novel foods and/or the avoidance of novel foods (Pliner & Hobden, 1992) and it has rarely been studied in adolescents. In many studies, authors have found a decrease of neophobia with age: in children less than 10 years old (Birch, 1979; Pelchat & Pliner, 1987 quoted by Pliner, 1994), and in adults (Otis, 1984; Pliner & Hobden, 1992; Pelchat & Pliner, 1995). The reduction of neophobia might explain the widening of the food repertoire during adolescence. Future research should examine this topic in order to explain food choices among novel and familiar foods during adolescence.
REFERENCES Andersson, E., Draussin-Germe, C., Lambert, J. L. & Courcoux, P. (1993). Comportements alimentaires chez des enfants et des adolescents dans la rkgion parisienne. Med. et .Nue., TXXIX, 5, 229-240. Astier-Dumas, M., Chavance, M., Mary, Y. (1980). Enq&te sur la consummation de boissons chez l’enfant et l’adolescent entre 9 et 18 ans. Mhdecine et Nutrition, 16(4) 256-261.
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Prefcl’cllccs Babayan, S. Y., Budayr, B. & Lindgren, H. C. (1966). Age, sex, and culture as variables in food aversion. 3. Sot. Pgchol., 68, 15-17. Baudier, F. (1988). Alimentation des adolescents francais et populations a risque. Colloquc International sur L’Alimentation, 26-05-88, La Revue du Praticien, 29, 2183-2184 ou CIDIL, Paris, pp. 99-109. Birch, L. L. (1979). Dimensions of preschool children’s food preferences. 3. Nut. Educ., U(2), 77-80a. Birch, L. L. (1987). The acquisition of Food Acceptance Patterns in children. In Eating Habits, Food, Physiology and Beamed Behaviour, ed. R. A. Boakes, D. A. Popplewell & M. J. Burton. John Wiley & sons. Chichester, pp. 107-130. Birch, L. L., Birch, D., Marlin, D. W. & Kramer, L. (1982). Effects of instrumental consumption on children’s food preference. Appetite, 3(2), 125-I 34. C.R.E.A. (1990). l’adolescent et l’alimentation. Centre de Recherche sur 1’Enfant et l’Adolescent, CFES, Paris. Claes, M. (1991). L’experience adolescente. ed. P. Mardaga, Liege Content0 1. (1981) Children’s thinking about food and eating. 3. J?utr.Educ., 13, 586-590. Contento, P. (1981). Children’s thinking about food and eating-a Piagelian-based study. 3. Nub. edu., 13(l), 586 590.
Dennison, C. M. & Shepherd, R. (1995). Adolescent food choice: an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
3.
Human .Nutr. Dietetics, 8, 9-23.
Desor, J. A., Greene, L. S. & Maller, 0. (1975). Preferences for sweet and salty in 9- to 15-year old and adult humans. Science, 190, 686687.
Drewnowski, A. ( 1989). Sensory preferences for fat and sugar in adolescence and adult life. Annals of New York Acaahy of Science, 561, 243-250. Einstein, M. A. & Hornstein, I. (1970). Food preferences of college students and nutritional implications. 3. Food Sci., d, 429-436.
Fischler, C. & Chiva, M. (1986). Food likes, dislikes and some of their correlates in a sample of French children and young adults. In Measurements and Determinants of Food Habits and Food Prefmences, ed. J. M. Diehi & C. Leitzmann, Euronut report 7. The Nederlands Nutrition Foundation, Wageningen, pp 137-156. Hall, I. S. & Hall, C. S. (1939). A study of disliked and unfamiliar foods. 3. Am. Diet Assoc., 15, 540-548. Kelder, S. H., Perry, C. L., Klepp, K. I. & Lytie, L. L. (1994). Longitudinal tracking of adolescent smoking, physical activity, and food choice behaviors. Am. 3. Pub. Health, 84, 7, 1121-1126.
Koster, E. P. (1992). Les facteurs des prC&ences des consommateurs. Le dynamisme des prt&ences. Con&ence IFN du 30/06/92: La perception des aromes: Aspects physiologiques et psychologiques. Paris. Krondl, M. (1988). Food habits determinants of North American adolescents: nutritional implications. Colloque International sur I’Alimentation, 26-05-88, La Revue du Praticien, 29, 2183-2184 ou CIDIL, Paris, pp. 11 l-117.
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Ledoux, S. & Choquet, M. (1991). “Les 1 l-20 ans et leur sand. I/ Les troubles des conduites alimentaires”. Analyses et prospective. INSERM. La Documentation Francaise, Paris. Logue, A. W. & Smith, M. E. (1986). Predictors of food preferences in adult humans. Ap~ctite, 7, 109-125. Maus, N. & Pudel, V. (1988). Psychological determinants of food intake. In Food Acccptabili&, ed. D. M. H. Thomson, Elsevier Applied Science, pp. 181-192. Michaud, C. & Baudier, F. (1991). Habitudes et consommations alimentaires des adolescents francaisz synth&se d’enquctes recentes. Archives Franfaises de Pidiatrie, 48(7), 475-479. Otis, I. P. (1984). Factors influencing the willingness to taste unusual foods. Psychol. Rep., 54, 739-745. Pelchat, M. L. & Roam, P. (1982). The special role of nausea in the acquisition of food dislikes by humans. Appctitc, 3,341-35 1. Pelchat, M. L. & Pliner, P. (1995). Try it. You’ll like it. Effects of information on willingness to try novel foods. Appetite, 24(2), 153-165. Pliner, P. (1982). The effects of mere exposure on liking for edible substances. Appetite, 3, 283-290. Pliner, P. (1994). Development of measures of food neophobia in children. Appetite, 23(2), 147-163. Pliner, P. & Hobden, K. (1992). Development of a scale to measure the trait of food neophobia in humans. Appetite, 19(2), 105-120. Pliner, P. & Pelchat, M. L. (1991). Neophobia in humans and the special status of foods of animal origin. Appetite, 16(3), 205-218. Rappoport, L., Peters, G. R., Downey, R., McCann, T. & Huff-Corzine, L. (1993). Gender and differences in food cognition. Appetite, 20, 33-52. Rolls, B. J. (1988). Food beliefs and food choices in adolescents. Med. 3. Aust., 148suppl. S9-13. Rozin, P. (1990). Acquisition of stable food preferences. .&hition Rev., 48, 106-l 13. Rozin, P. & Schilier, D. (1980). The nature and acquisition of a preference for chili pepper by humans. Motivation and Emotion, 4(l),
77-101.
Steiner, J. E. (1988). Sweet and bitter in the mirror of behaviour. In Food Acceptability, ed. D. M. H. Thomson, Elsevier Applied Science, pp 157-171. Stevenson, R. J. & Yeomans, M. R. (1995). Does exposure enhance liking for the chilli burn? Appetite, 24(2), 107-120. Story, M. (1989). A perspective on adolescent lifestyle and eating behavior. Nutrition News, 52, l-3. Sweeting, H., Anderson, A. & West, P. (1994). Socio-demographic correlates of dietary habits in mid to late adolescence. Eur. 3. Clin. Nutr., 48( lo), 736-748. Walsh, L. M. (1993). “I don’t like it, I never tried it” in young adults. Appetite, 20(2), 147. Wardle, J. & Beales, S. (1986). Restraint, body image and food attitudes in children from 12 to 18 years. Appetite, 7,209-217. Worsley, A., Baghurst, P., Worsley, A. J., Coonan, W. & Peters, M. (1984). La perception des prod&s alimentaires par des enfants australiens ages de 10 ans. (I. Sex differences). Ecol. Food N&r., 15(3) 231-246, 247-257.
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5) Fill this board and write down
APPENDIX
(a) YOUR FAVOURITE FOODS (they might be beverages or dishes but you must love them), QUOTE MAXIMUM 10 FOODS. (b) WHY you like them, (c) SINCE WHEN you have liked them (if you don’t know, write: ?, if it’s for a very long time, write: always)
Questionnaire about food preferences of adolescents (its length has been reduced for publication) The Sensory Analysis Laboratory of Nestle France is starting a study about food preferences in adolescents as part of a PhD research project. We are sending a questionnaire to 500 teenagers. This questionnaire is aimed to increase our knowledge of their likings and food habits. It will be useful to know how food preferences are formed, when and in which context they are formed, and if these preferences are stable. This questionnaire is strictly confidential. Answering to this questionnaire is not an obligation. If you are between 10 and 20 and you want to answer this questionnaire, you must tick one or several spaces for each question and add any commentary. You can ask your parents to help you if you have any problem. I)
Do l l
Example: Foods you like very much Sweets
l l l
Do you fry to controlyour l l l
Example: Foods you dislike very much Sweets Foods you dislike very much
Observations:
YES SOMETIMES NO
l l l l
Age
Why?
Age
Because they are too sweet
12
Why?
Age
ALWAYS SOMETIMES RARELY NEVER (if you tick: ‘Never’, go to question’ll)
Observations:
3) Do you like foreign cooking? l
Why?
6) Are you (or were you) forced to eat what you don’t like-to?
weight?
Observations:
l
Always
(a) THE FOODS YOU HATE (those you can’t swallow, or only with disgust), QUOTE MAXIMUM 10 FOODS. (b) WHY you dislike them, (c) SINCE WHEN you have disliked them (if you don’t know, write: ?, if it’s for a very long time, write: always)
YES NO
YES AND I SUCCEED YES BUT I DON’T SUCCEED SOMETIMES NEVER
Because they’re sweet
Fill this board, and write down
Observations:
l
Age
Foods you like very much
you like to try novel dishes, unknown foods?
2) Do you try to balance your a/j~en~a~ion (eat a little of everything) ?
Why?
Ifyou
YES NO
are (or were) forced to eat, which foods are concerned?
What happens when you are forced to eat?
Observations:
l
I EAT (OR I USED TO EAT) I DON’T EAT (OR I DIDN’T EAT)
4) What do you think of the following tastes (tick the spaces) ?
l
Tastes Salty Sweet Sour (like lemon) Bitter (as coffee)
Observations:
I like it
I don’t mind
I don’t like it
USED
TO
Ifyou were forced before and not now any more, since which age have you been forced
-
years Observations:
261
Adolescents’ Food Habits and Preferences
7) Do you think you are finicky about your food choices? l l
How many sisters do you have? If you have some, do you have approximately preferences as your sister(s)?
YES NO
l l
Why?
the same food
YES NO
Observations: 8)
What
are your best memories about food (quote
2 or 3)?
10)
Think at holidays, foods, etc. Write down:
meals with family
or friends,
festive
PLACES On a tree, in a garden at Marseille
l
PERSONS At friend’s
What areyour worst memories aboutfood
Think at some diseases FOODS PLACES Example: In the A fondue Alpes
l l
(a) foods concerned, (b) places you were, (c) persons who were with you, (d) others circumstances, (e) your age (if you don’t know, write.?) FOODS Example: Cherry
l
FRUITS CHOCOLATE YOGHURTS CHEESE BISCUITS OR CAKES CEREALS OR CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS DELICATESSEN OTHER (WHAT?)
AGE OTHER Every year Since 12
(quote 2 or 3)
9) Food preferences of your family members.
l
Tell us where and when you snack
the same food preferences
as your
l
l
Observations:
l l l
the same food preferences
as your
OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER
Observations:
13) Have you had some health problem related to food (digestion. appetite, etc.)
YES NO
l
YES NO
l
How many brothers do you have?
If yes, which ones?
Zf you have some, do you haue approximately preferences as your brother(s)?
l
YES NO
Observations:
.
OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER
Observations:
l
BARS
12) Have you been on a diet?
Observations:
l
11)
11) Do you skip meals?
l
YES NO
Do you have approximately mother?
ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER (if you tick: ‘Never’, go to question
When you snack, what do you eat?
l
l
you eat between meals?
Observations:
caused by food, etc. AGE PERSONS OTHER I was sick 7 With my family and now it disgusts me
Do you have approximately father?
Do
the same food
14)
How
do you choose your foods?
You can tick several spaces.
I select my foods according l l
to:
WHAT I LIKE THE TIME I HAVE TO EAT
C. Ton Nu et al. THE WEATHER WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO EAT THE CALORIES THEY CONTAIN (NOT TOO FATTENING) THEIR PRICE THEIR QUALITY (FRESHNESS..) THEIR ABILITY TO SATIATE ME THEIR CONVENIENCE MY HUNGER OR MY TIREDNESS WHAT IS GOOD FOR HEALTH I EAT ANYTHING THAT IS GIVEN TO ME OTHERS (WHAT?) Observations: 15)
Describe your favourite meal
Why?
It’s when you grow tall, when girls have their first periods and the voice of boys changes. You can ask your parents. years Observations:
Which foods didyou dislike previously that you like now?
(a) foods (4 OR 5 MAXIMUM) (b) why you changed your preference (c) At what age? Example: Before I didn’t like +now I like Onions
-
NAME: SEX: Boy/Girl AGE: SCHOOL FORM ADDRESS: DO YOU LIVE:
l
ALONE WITH YOUR OTHER
l
7 7)
Principal changes in your food preferences since your childhood
l
Which foods didyou like previously that you hate now?
Write: (a) foods (4 OR 5 MAXIMUM) (b) why you changed your preference (c) At what age?
Why?
Age
I’ve eaten too many
9
Age
Write
Why?
Age
A friend made me appreciate
13
Why?
Age
Before I didn’t like *now I like
16) When did your puberty start?
Example: Before I liked it *now I dislike it Pickles
Before I liked it +now I dislike it
(OR PROFESSION):
PARENTS
- IN WHICH REGION DID YOU LIVE WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD? (WHEN?) - WHAT ENTS? Father: Mother:
IS THE
PROFESSION
- FROM COME? Father: Mother:
WHICH
REGION
OF YOUR
DO YOUR
MOST
PAR-
PARENTS