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Issues in children's food choices: methods for | 
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A review of the many factors that affect children's preferences and choices in food.
Many factors have been identified that affect children's food choices. As well as biological and psychological factors, choice is affected by taste, hunger, appearance, family habits and feeding practices, peer pressure, schools and teachers, media and advertising, cost and availability. Understanding these will help both government and industry in their efforts to improve the healthiness of children's overall diet.
There have been a great number of studies of different aspect of children's eating habits, especially in recent years. This review pulls together this wealth of information into a highly readable document. Children's diets have been shown to include a high proportion of high-fat, energy dense foods. The liking of these particular food products has been attributed to children's constant need for energy, and the way that fat can enhance taste attributes. Although efforts have been made to try and improve children's dietary habits and awareness of the benefits of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, most of these have not been very effective. In most cases, although the children showed improved nutritional awareness, improvements in eating habits were temporary. Intervention actions, combining lectures and exposure to selected food products, have been more effective in improving children's eating habits.
Contents
Softcover - 47 pages