Food neophobia associates with lower dietary quality and higher BMI in Finnish adults

Abstract

<p> Objective: Food neophobia has been associated with decreased consumption of<br /> vegetables mainly among children. We hypothesized that food neophobia in<br /> adults is also associated with lower overall dietary quality and higher BMI.<br /> Design: Data for the present cross-sectional analyses were derived from parents in<br /> a follow-up family study.<br /> Setting: The STEPS study, a longitudinal study of health and development of a<br /> cohort of children born in south-west Finland.<br /> Subjects: The parents, 1178 women (age 19&ndash;45 years, mean 32&middot;2 years) and 1013<br /> men (age 18&ndash;57 years, mean 34&middot;1 years), completed a questionnaire at home<br /> when their child was 13 months old. The questionnaire included the Food<br /> Neophobia Scale (FNS; range 10&ndash;70), the Index of Diet Quality (IDQ; range 0&ndash;16)<br /> and a measure of fruit and vegetable consumption. At that time the participants&rsquo;<br /> height and weight were also measured by a research nurse to calculate BMI.<br /> Results: Compared with the food neophilics (FNS score 10&ndash;24), the food neophobics<br /> (FNS score 40&ndash;70) consumed fewer vegetables (women: 15 v. 10 portions/week;<br /> men: 13 v. 7 portions/week), scored lower on the IDQ (women: 9&middot;7 v. 8&middot;5; men: 8&middot;8<br /> v. 7&middot;8) and had higher BMI (women: 24&middot;2 v. 26&middot;0 kg/m2; men: 26&middot;5 v. 27&middot;5 kg/m2) as<br /> tested by one-way ANOVA, with all P values &lt;0&middot;001 in women and &lt;0&middot;05 in men.<br /> The food neophobics followed a diet lower in nutritional quality than did the food<br /> neophilics, especially regarding vegetables.<br /> Conclusions: Food neophobia may complicate adaptation to dietary recommendations<br /> and predispose to overweight.</p>