• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.289-305
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• 2020

Picky eating behavior is a significant factor in causing unhealthy eating and disturbing the growth of children. This study examined picky eating behaviors and food intake of 112 preschoolers aged 3~5 year, picky eaters (n=41) and non-picky eaters (n=71), living in Dobong-gu, Seoul metropolitan area, South Korea. Picky eating questionnaires and three consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls were collected from their caregivers. The difference between the two groups was verified using a Chi-square test or t-test and Pearson's correlation. Compared to the non-picky eaters, fussiness, satiety responsiveness, and refusal of food variety were significantly higher in picky eaters (P<0.001). Compared to the non-picky eaters, an assessnent of the preschooler's behavior and the caregivers' perception were positively correlated in picky eaters (r=0.749, P<0.001). The intakes of shellfish (P<0.05), vegetables (P<0.001), fiber, vitamin E (P<0.01), vitamin A, and folate (P<0.05) were significantly lower in picky eaters than the non-picky eaters. The major food sources of vitamin A and folate were vegetables, of which grains were the source of fiber, fats and oils were the source of Vitamin E, and root vegetables were source of vegetables in both picky and non-picky eaters. In conclusion, picky eating behaviors are related to different fussiness and slowness in eating. Therefore, it is suggested to increase the amount of meal and vegetable intake in picky eaters.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1-17
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between young children's picky eating behavior and mother's attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding the eating habits of children. Using a sample of 304 mothers of four or five year-old children, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test a 7 factor model, which included mother's beliefs and practices related to the feeding of their children. Following this, a t-test was conducted to examine the differences between the feeding behaviors of mothers of both of picky and non-oicky eaters, respectively. The results indicated that picky eater's eating behaviors were positively related to the pressures exerted by mothers and negatively related to the mother's concerns about their child's weight and child's BMI. These findings suggest that the pressures mothers exert upon their children to eat, their child's weight and picky eating behaviors are correlated to each other.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the eating behavior, growth, and dietary practices of children aged 3~5 years living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi Provinces. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 237 mothers of preschool children between April and June 2018. Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age were calculated to determine the children's growth status. Dietary practices were evaluated using the nutrition quotient for Korean preschoolers (NQ-P). Results: In our study, 29.5% of children were in the eating-small-amounts group, 46.8% of children were in the neophobic behavior group, and 61.2% of children were in the refusal-of-specific food group. Specific foods found to have a high frequency of rejection are listed in descending order as follows: shellfish, soy, mushroom, shrimp, vegetables, milk, eggs, yogurt, seaweed, meat, fruits, and fish. The eating-small-amounts group had lower Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age than the non-picky eaters' group. Compared to the non-picky eaters' group, the eating-small-amounts group of picky eaters had lower scores on the moderation and environment items of the NQ-P, the neophobic behavior group had lower scores on the balance and environment items of the NQ-P, and the refusal-of-specific food group had lower scores on the balance, moderation, and environment items of the NQ-P. Conclusions: Children classified with picky eating behavior had lower growth and development, lower diet diversity, less balanced food intake, and had greater difficulty in abstaining from eating unhealthy foods than non-picky eaters. Therefore, a lot of patience and intensive efforts are needed to encourage children to encounter, experience, and accept unfamiliar food. It is more effective to provide eating behavior guidance by gently encouraging children, than by being strict and forceful. Besides, since the eating behavior of children is influenced maximally by the dietary lifestyle at their homes, it is important to ensure that a healthy dietary lifestyle is maintained at home.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.393-399
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Thin children may have insufficient intake of energy and nutrients, resulting in reduced immune function and growth. This study aimed to identify the effects of multiple herb formula SEC-22 supplementation on growth, dietary changes, and picky eating behaviors in thin children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 79 children aged 2-5 years with poor appetites, BMI percentile < 25, and without any illness. Subjects were given either SEC-22 (n = 35) or placebo (n = 44) for 2 months and followed for an additional 2 months. Three-day dietary records, questionnaires on picky eating behaviors, and anthropometric measures were collected. RESULTS: Energy, carbohydrate intake, and feeding difficulty improved in both groups during the intervention period. However, changes were maintained only in the SEC-22 group after 2 months of follow-up post-supplementation. 'Frequency of trying to feed' was improved in the SEC-22 group compared to the placebo group after the first month of follow-up (P < 0.05). Intakes of potassium and thiamine were improved in the SEC-22 group compared to the placebo group after the first month of intervention (P < 0.05). 'Frequency of food reward', eating amount, and intakes of carbohydrate, potassium, and vitamin C showed significant improvement compared to the placebo group after the second month of follow-up (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SEC-22 supplementation can improve parental feeding difficulty resulting from insufficient eating amount or picky eating as well as increase nutrient intake in thin children. Although these improvements were observable at least 2 months after supplementation, effects beyond this time frame need to be confirmed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.451-463
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate booklets and video clips to prevent children from picky eating. Methods: Based on a survey conducted on food preferences of preschool children aged 2 to 5 years, 14 kinds of less preferred vegetables were selected. Accordingly, educational videos, activity books, and teaching-learning guides were produced for preschool children using the 'food bridge' theory, and the educational materials were named "Friendly vegetables". Educational materials were distributed to childcare institutions, and their effectiveness was investigated for preschool children who were instructed on these materials once every 30 days from March to November, 2019. The children were examined for changes in their knowledge of names, colors, taste/texture, methods of cultivation, and preferences for vegetables before and after the instructional course. Results: The awareness of vegetables increased significantly in younger children and the picky eating group. When the assessment was carried out in terms of vegetable knowledge, it was observed that the younger the age or the pickier the in eating food, the more effective the education is compared to the counter part. The preference for vegetables also increased after the instruction compared to the pre-instruction period, but significant changes were seen only in the 2~3 year age group for boys and girls. Also, only the picky group of girls showed changes in preference. The children's average interest in the education materials was 3.85 points out of 5 points. Conclusions: Through this study, we have developed educational materials for standalone use in childcare facilities and confirmed that they have a significant effect on improving awareness and preferences related to vegetables. In summary, the younger the age or the pickier the child in eating food, the more effective the education. It is believed that additional education on mealtime guidance is needed which can alter the eating behavior of preschool children and improve their diet. It is proposed to widen the scope of use of the materials by collecting diverse opinions from child care teachers.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.130-141
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• 2011

This study was conducted to develop a nutrition education workbook to improve picky eating in children and to evaluate the effect of nutrition education using this developed workbook. The developed workbook focused on 2nd and 3rd grade students and consisted of five units. The contents included: multi-grain, vegetables (2 units), fish, and milk. The activities, including observation, and learning the roles and names of the foods, were developed mainly to increase motivation for eating a balanced diet. This workbook was developed from April to December 2008, and was applied at 15 elementary schools containing 1,674 students from April to September 2009 in Changwon City, Korea. We evaluated changes in knowledge before and after education on nutrition, eating behavior, dietary habits, and educational activities using self-administered questionnaires. The children demonstrated significant improvements in nutritional knowledge (P<0.001), eating behavior (P<0.001), and dietary habits (P<0.001). Most of the children answered that the education program was helpful and exciting. Based on these results, we believe that the developed workbook is suitable for children picky eaters, and hope it will be used in the field of child nutrition education.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to provide basic information for developing nutrition education programs for preschool children and their families. The subjects were 291 parents whose children went to daycare centers in Uiwang. The questionnaire contained 15 items for children's dietary habits and six items for parents' nutritional attitudes. The results of frequency analysis of children's dietary habits were as follows: 63.9% of children ate meals regularly, however breakfast (46.4%) was usually skipped; 44.0% of children ate a snack more than twice per day; 56.7% did not have late night meals; 49.5% ate out once to twice per week; 89.7% had dinner with family more than three times per week; and 43.6% had picky eating habits. The percentage of children who did not eat vegetables and seaweed was the highest among other food groups. Intake frequencies were low in fatty foods, instant foods, and fast foods. Some correlations were observed between picky eating habits and other dietary habits by cross-tabulation analysis. Intake frequency of non-picky eating children was lower for late night eating and fatty foods but higher for vegetables and seaweed compared to picky eating children. Parents answered that their nutritional knowledge level was normal (72.2%), and nutritional information was collected using the Internet (36.0%). Nutritional value was the most considered point in meal preparation of parents (43.3%), and the most difficult factor in child's diet management was lack of time due to working (36.1%). Parents cited method of creating a menu (27.0%) and table manners (25.3%) as topics of nutrition education by professionals. Therefore, various nutrition education programs need to be developed to improve healthy dietary habits for children and their families.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.103-113
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• 2023

This study investigated the correlation between parents' nutrition quotient (NQ) and the nutrition quotient of Korean preschoolers (NQ-P) of picky eaters (PE) aged five years living in Dobong-gu, Seoul. The questionnaire was conducted online by parents of 187 preschoolers between May 25 and June 5, 2020. PE was defined as an average score of 3 or more on the picky eating questionnaires; non-picky eaters (NPE, n=120) and PE (n=67). The correlation between preschoolers and their parents was assessed using the NQ-P and NQ, respectively. Compared to the NPE, picky eating (p<0.001) was significantly higher, and vegetable preference (p<0.001), NQ-P (p<0.05), moderation dimension (p<0.05), frequency of vegetable intake (p<0.05) of balance dimension, and processed beverages (p<0.01) of moderation dimension were significantly lower in the PE. The correlation between the NQ and NQ-P was related to the diversity (p<0.05), moderation (p<0.05), and environment (p<0.01) of NQ in the NPE and not related to the PE. PEs should increase their frequency of vegetable intake and reduce their intake of processed beverages. To increase the NQ-P of PE, parents should eat a balanced diet. Future studies on the NQ-P of preschoolers aged 3 to 5 are needed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.418-426
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• 2013

This study was conducted in order to investigate the association between picky eating behaviors of preschool children and growth outcomes. In this study, picky eating behaviors were defined as containing four constructs of 'eating a small amount (ES),' 'neophoic behavior (NB),' 'refusal of specific food groups (RF),' and 'preference for specific food-preparation methods (PP).' A 7-point scale was used for the multi-item questionnaire, which consisted of 21 items (three items for ES, two items for NB, nine items for RF, and seven items for PP), in order to evaluate picky eating behaviors of children. Subjects were recruited among visitors at a medical clinic in Seoul. A total of 150 self-administered survey responses from parents of preschool children were analyzed in order to investigate the association between picky eating behaviors of preschool children and growth outcomes. Height for age (HFA) and weight for height (WFH) z-scores were used for assessment of preschool children's growth. The prevalence of ES, NB, RF, and PP was 44%, 57%, 73%, and 53%, respectively. Children with ES had lower HFA (p < 0.05) and WFH (p < 0.0001) than those without ES, while children with NB, RF, or PP had HFA and WFH were similar to their counterparts. The mean HFA z-score of children with ES was less than 0 (p < 0.05) and the mean WFH z-scores of children with ES, NB, RF, or PP were less than 0 (p < 0.05). According to the study results, related growth outcome differed depending on constructs of picky eating behaviors. In particular, picky eating of ES showed a risk of faltering height growth in preschool children. Further comprehensive studies on the reason for ES and intervention approach is warranted.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

Eating behaviour disorder during early childhood is a common pediatric problem. Many terminologies have been used interchangeably to describe this condition, hindering implementation of therapy and confusing a common problem. The definition suggests an eating behaviour which has consequences for family harmony and growth. The recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition does not cover the entire spectrum seen by pediatricians. Publications are substantive but level of evidence is most of the time low. This purpose of this review is to clarify terminology of eating behaviour problems during early childhood; including benign picky eating, limited diets, sensory food aversion, selective eating, food avoidance emotional disorder, pervasive refusal syndrome, tactile defensiveness, functional dysphagia, neophobia and toddler anorexia. This tool is proposed only to ease the clinical management for child care providers. Diagnostic criteria are set and management tools are suggested. The role of dietary counselling and, where necessary, behavioural therapy is clarified. It is hoped that the condition will make its way into mainstream pediatrics to allow these children, and their families, to receive the help they deserve.