The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens
Food neophobia (FN) has been poorly explored in real contexts and in large-scale studies with children. This study assessed the impact of FN in children on school canteen meals by considering liking, emotional status, and food waste behaviours. We involved 630 children (7–11 years old; females = 53%...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Maria Piochi Michele Antonio Fino Luisa Torri |
| author_facet | Maria Piochi Michele Antonio Fino Luisa Torri |
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| description | Food neophobia (FN) has been poorly explored in real contexts and in large-scale studies with children. This study assessed the impact of FN in children on school canteen meals by considering liking, emotional status, and food waste behaviours. We involved 630 children (7–11 years old; females = 53%) from nine Italian primary schools. The main self-reported variables that were collected included pleasure of eating in the canteen, declared liking for different foods, emotional responses, meal description, and food waste. The characteristics of low neophobia (LN), medium neophobia (MN), and high neophobia (HN) were comparable between genders and provenience and did not differ by the pleasure of eating at home. Children with HN had the lowest frequency of eating in the canteen, the highest self-reported amount of wasted food, and the lowest liking for all items, especially vegetables and legumes; they selected mostly emotions with negative valence and described the meal as more uncomfortable and boring. Instead, children exhibiting LN used positive emotions with high arousal to describe the meal and found it a little boring, while those with MN showed an intermediate attitude. Children with HN may benefit from familiarisation actions to accept non-domestic meals and reduce food waste in non-familiar environments. Improving school canteen contexts (e.g., the socialising possibility) can modulate children’s emotional responses and reduce food waste. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-52531ebd92e048be8eceb4262800c59d |
| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-52531ebd92e048be8eceb4262800c59d2025-08-20T03:14:31ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-05-011410177710.3390/foods14101777The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School CanteensMaria Piochi0Michele Antonio Fino1Luisa Torri2University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12060 Pollenzo, ItalyUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12060 Pollenzo, ItalyUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12060 Pollenzo, ItalyFood neophobia (FN) has been poorly explored in real contexts and in large-scale studies with children. This study assessed the impact of FN in children on school canteen meals by considering liking, emotional status, and food waste behaviours. We involved 630 children (7–11 years old; females = 53%) from nine Italian primary schools. The main self-reported variables that were collected included pleasure of eating in the canteen, declared liking for different foods, emotional responses, meal description, and food waste. The characteristics of low neophobia (LN), medium neophobia (MN), and high neophobia (HN) were comparable between genders and provenience and did not differ by the pleasure of eating at home. Children with HN had the lowest frequency of eating in the canteen, the highest self-reported amount of wasted food, and the lowest liking for all items, especially vegetables and legumes; they selected mostly emotions with negative valence and described the meal as more uncomfortable and boring. Instead, children exhibiting LN used positive emotions with high arousal to describe the meal and found it a little boring, while those with MN showed an intermediate attitude. Children with HN may benefit from familiarisation actions to accept non-domestic meals and reduce food waste in non-familiar environments. Improving school canteen contexts (e.g., the socialising possibility) can modulate children’s emotional responses and reduce food waste.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/10/1777food neophobiamealtimelikingemotionwastecatering |
| spellingShingle | Maria Piochi Michele Antonio Fino Luisa Torri The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens Foods food neophobia mealtime liking emotion waste catering |
| title | The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens |
| title_full | The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens |
| title_short | The Impact of Children’s Food Neophobia on Meal Perception, Emotional Responses, and Food Waste in Italian Primary School Canteens |
| title_sort | impact of children s food neophobia on meal perception emotional responses and food waste in italian primary school canteens |
| topic | food neophobia mealtime liking emotion waste catering |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/10/1777 |
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