Picture credit: http://lauracipullo.com/feeding-and-autism-spectrum-disorders/
PSYCHOLOGY – 15th August 2018
Research suggests that children prefer different serving styles for different meals
Ever wonder how to make sure children eat their food? A Danish research team demonstrated that children with different age and gender have different preferences on the way that their food is served.
Research by S. E. Nielson, S. Skouw, A. Olsen at University of Copenhagen, Release on EurekAlert!
—
By arranging food differently and asking children to rank the food, Danish research team found some correlations between the rank and the children’s gender and age.
The research team recruited younger children (7-9 years old) and older children (12-14 years old) and served them 6 types of food arranged in 3 different ways – separated, in-between, and mixed. Then, the children were asked to rank these different serving styles.
The rankings were categorized by age and gender of the children. The team concluded that younger girls prefer their food to be separated and younger boys do not have a preference. They also found that older children do have a clear preference like the younger ones do.
Public Release: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/fos–nrs082018.php
Original Research https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01545