Factors associated with food neophobia and fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers in Kuantan

Chai, Wen Shin (2015) Factors associated with food neophobia and fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers in Kuantan. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Project paper (B.Sc (Nutrition and Community Health)) - Universiti Putra Malaysia, 2015. The prevalence of inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetable has become a common problem in developed and developing countries. One of the factors which may contribute to this problem is food neophobia. Food neophobia is characterized as a personality trait which place people in term of their tendency to accept or avoid new foods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 13 randomly selected preschools in Kuantan to examine the factors associated with food neophobia and fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years old. A total of 240 preschoolers (137 boys and 103 girls) with a mean age of 5.11 ± 0.62 years participated in this study. A self-administered questionnaire assessing personal characteristics, infant feeding practices, maternal feeding practices, and food neophobia was completed by the mothers. Frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption was measured using a self-administered questionnaire. A 3-day food record was recorded to measure the number of servings of food and vegetable consumption by their mothers. Height and weight of the preschoolers were measured. About 8.7% of the respondents were wasted/thinness, 10.1% were overweight, 11.3% were underweight, and 11.7% were stunted. Majority of the preschoolers consumed fruit (85.9%) and vegetable (75%) less than once per day. The means consumption of fruit and vegetable were 0.63 ± 0.51 and 1.30 ± 0.91 servings per day respectively. Of 240 preschoolers, 96.7% and 94.2% did not consume the recommended 2 servings of fruit and vegetable daily, respectively. Some (15.8%) were classified as food neophobia. There were no significant associations between food neophobia behaviour with fruit consumption (χ²=1.462, p=0.481) and vegetable consumption (χ²=5.098, p=0.078). Mother's age groups were associated significantly with food neophobia (χ²=11.111, p=0.025) and fruit consumption (χ²=15.044, p=0.001) but not vegetable consumption (χ²=5.383, p=0.068). Mother's use of autonomy promoting practices of involvement were negatively associated with food neophobia (r=-0.156, p=0.016) and vegetable consumption (r=-0.145, p=0.024) but not fruit consumption (r=-0.111, p=0.087). Besides, exclusive breastfeeding was positively correlated with vegetable consumption (r=0.155p,=0.016) only. This study demonstrated a high prevalence of inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetable among preschoolers and different factors exhibited different associations on fruit and vegetable consumption separately. Hence, conducting a need assessment before implementation of intervention by health professionals is important in order to evaluate the consumption of fruit and vegetable of the children and thus tailor specific strategies responding to their condition.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Nabilah Rozali
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2022 07:57
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2022 07:57
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/145

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