Food and Drink Innovation Network Seminar - Children’s Food and Drink C.C. Gilbert 15.11.06 Young People’s Food Choices and Preferences Chantal C. Gilbert

C.C. Gilbert15.11.06 Food and Drink Innovation Network Seminar - Children’s Food and Drink

Young People’s Food Choices and Preferences

Chantal C. GilbertCCFRA


Introduction

• The number of EU schoolchildren who are overweight or obese is rising by about 400,000 per year

• Obesity heightens the risk for many serious illnesses• Complex relationship between these diseases and young people’s

lifestyle, attitudes, physiology, genetics and environment • Children’s food choices – lower intake of fruit & vegetables and

higher intake of foods that are high in salt, sugar & fat• Childhood nutrition is a hot topic: the role of the media, parents,

schools, food manufacturers, sedentary lifestyles• What are the factors that influence young people’s food choice?• How can we measure and influence their food choices and

preferences?


Factors that influence children’s food choices

Sensory factors (affective)

• Taste – most important

• Appearance, especially colour

• Texture

• Sound

• Smell

• Energy density of the food – learn to positively associate with flavour

• Hedonics …

Non-sensory factors(cognitive, environmental,social, biological…)

• Hunger

• Family preferences

• Culture

• Influence of friends

• Price

• Availability

• Brands

• Attitudes …


Children as consumers

• Influence their parents on purchasing decisions (pester power)

• Pocket money spending

• Peer influence

• Knowledge of products, brands, advertising, pricing, decision making strategies, negotiating approaches


Children as consumers (2)

• As with any type of consumer, product success among children is dependent on sensory factors as well as non-sensory factors

• It is difficult to generalise which sensory characteristics work and which don’t work– This can be category or product-specific– Can depend on the age of the child– Individual preferences can differ

• However, here are some observations from the literature as to children’s likes & dislikes…


Children’s likes & dislikes

• General– Early childhood exposure to a wide range of flavours and

textures can help decrease food neophobia

– Self-expression…they do not want re-packaged adult food products

– Repeated exposure can increase acceptance of a product

– Familiarity – children like what they are familiar with

– Foods that satisfy children’s hunger and taste buds!


Children’s likes & dislikes (2)

• Appearance– Colourful foods appeal to children– Fun shapes, play value, especially with younger kids– Bright coloured packaging

• Texture– In general:

• Dislike lumps or large fruit pieces• Dislike appearance of ‘bits’• Smooth textures• Smaller, softer foods• Prefer things that are easier to chew

– However, there is also some evidence that children like unusual textures and texture variety



• Taste and flavours– Innate preferences: like sweetness, dislike bitter– Learned preference: saltiness – Unique flavours – Flavour variety– Special formulations

• Taste is very important… if you can make it healthy and taste good, they will eat it

• But then… ‘marketing’ issues– Negative connotations for ‘light’ products– Evidence that products labelled ‘healthy’ are assumed to

have negative sensory characteristics and thus less likely to be liked



• Best way to understand children’s likes & dislikes, especially in relation to your product…

ASK THEM!

• Important to use kids in sensory product testing!• However, bear in mind there are many

methodological issues when testing with children


Sensory and consumer research with children

• Measuring food choice– Observational approaches

– Diary studies

– Recording food consumption

– One-on-one interviews

– Focus groups

– Questionnaires

– Sensory preference testing

– Hedonic scales

– Controlled intervention studies

• Methodological issues– Cognitive and social abilities– Method selection; adapting

techniques for the appropriate age range

– Confusion of attributes– Type of scale e.g. verbal vs. facial– Number of scale points– Child-friendly language– Parental consent– Parental involvement?– See ASTM E2299-03

for guidance


Example: online survey

• CCFRA conducted online surveys as part of the ‘children’s food choices’ research project

• 5 local schools • 5-10 year old children• Methods: conjoint analysis as well as multiple choice

tasks, conducted over the internet, within the schools• Food choice task – visual assessment only• Meal combinations: drink, main meal & snack• Example of summary results for snacks…


Children’s Food Choices - Snacks

CCFRA online survey - Influence of snacks (all schools)

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Cookies Chocolate Cake Apple Chocolate Crisps Banana Fruit Yoghurt Fruit Salad Cereal Bar


Research with adolescents…

The HELENA projectwww.helenastudy.com

‘Food choices and preferences’ research partners: AINIA (Spain), CCFRA (UK), CCFRA Hungary (Hungary), MEURICE R&D (Belgium), SIK (Sweden)Industrial partners: CEDERROTH (Sweden), Lantmännen (Sweden), PASA (Spain), SERRANO (Spain)Project coordinator: Professor Luis A. Moreno Aznar, Universidad de ZaragozaFunding: Financial support of the European Community (FOOD-CT-2005-007034)


Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescents

• Overall aims– Assessment of the nutritional status of European adolescents between 13

and 16 years-old

– Development and validation of a Lifestyle Education Programme - improving eating and lifestyle habits

– Development of healthy foods that are appealing to adolescents - based on knowledge gathered on adolescent food choices and preferences

• Food Choices and Preferences research programme– Investigate the issues, determinants and preferences surrounding

adolescent food choice and healthy eating

– Methods: Focus groups (300 adolescents, 5 countries) and quantitative surveys (3000 adolescents, 11 regions)


Food Choices and Preferences:

UK Focus Groups


Focus groups: Design

• Groups were divided by age and gender, i.e. 4 types of groups:

- Male, 13-14 years - Female, 13-14 years

- Male, 15-16 years - Female, 15-16 years

• UK locations: Manchester, Birmingham & Bristol

• UK sample: 10 focus groups, 71 adolescents in total

• Discussion guide topics: Eating habits, influences on food choice, favourite foods, restricted foods, perception of healthy foods, healthy lifestyle and physical activity, sources of information, concept testing for new product ideas


Eating Habits

• Breakfast– Weekday breakfast usually cereal &/or toast, though cereal bars, yoghurt and

fruit also mentioned; weekend breakfast can include cooked foods

• Lunch– Sandwiches, usually accompanied by a bag of crisps and/or a snack bar and

sometimes fruit

• Dinner– Parental influence is evident

‘I just have what my mum cooks’ (F, 15-16, Bris)

– Pizza & pasta are a popular evening meals, as are jacket potatoes, meat & veg, sausage & mash, etc.

– Convenience foods - chosen when parents are not cooking


Eating Habits – Snacking

• Most popular snacks: Crisps, and cookies/biscuits• Other popular choices: fruit, chocolate bars, cereal bars,

yoghurts, sweets, chocolate muffins, Jaffa cakes and donuts • Boys - also mentioned more ‘substantial’ snacks:

– Sandwiches, toasties, sausage rolls, bacon baps, beefburgers (& even ‘bowl of pasta’ and ‘full English breakfast’!)

• Snacking - especially after school• Main reason: they are hungry!

• Snacking - seems to be more frequent at the weekend ‘When you get more time you get more hungry at the weekends usually – you think about it more I guess’ (F, 15-16, Bris)


Total No. of top 3 selections for all meal occasions

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50

100

150

200

250

Taste Myparents

Readilyavailable

Health Easy toprepare

Habit Price School Friends Brand Diet I'mfollowing

Adverts Other Medicalreason

Countryof origin

Factors influencing food choice


Barriers against healthy eating

• Taste & Boredom'Most healthy stuff (snacks) is just disgusting' (M, 13-14, Birm)‘I think it is a bit boring, healthy things’ (F, 15-16, Bris)

• Hassle‘You have to cook healthy foods’ (F, 13-14, Man)

• Cost & value for money'You see a Mars bar and that is 40 p and you see these Tracker bars and they are 40 p and you think, why bother because the Mars bar is twice as big and ten times as heavy so you just go for a Mars bar' (M, 15-16, Man)

• Doesn’t fill you up‘Fruit isn’t very effective when I get hungry – I eat chocolates and crisps or something’ (F, 15-16, Birm)

• Lack of immediate concern'Well I think it is important now but I will address it more in the future' (M, 13-14, Birm)


Information sources

• Brands and adverts were not ranked highly in the list of influences on food choice, but they are very aware of the media

• Jamie Oliver, ‘Supersize me’, ‘You are what you eat’, etc.• Media savvy and healthy amount of scepticism

‘Trying to make it look healthy which it isn’t really because you don’t go into McDonalds to have a salad, you go in for a burger don’t you?’ (M, 13-14, Man)

‘(Labelling something) fat free or whatever but then they have got as much rubbish in it so it makes it no good for you anyway. So it shouldn’t be misleading’ (F, 15-16, Birm)

• Knowledge is there, but appears they are finding it difficult to put into practice‘… have 5 fruit and veg a day, but it doesn’t really say if you can have 5 grapes and that will be it’ (F, 15-16, Bris)


Concept testing with adolescents: a few observations

• Various product concept ideas were presented e.g. fat-free hamburger; chewable vitamin tablets; low-fat fibre-added meat sticks; vitamin tablets for a fizzy drink; etc.

• ‘Hits’:– Fun shapes and colours

– Low fat… but for some things (like hamburgers): “what’s the point”

– Flavour variety

– Novel (but still familiar) flavours

• ‘Misses’:– Concepts that are too far away from what they are familiar with

– Sensitive to colour variations e.g. pale colour = ‘light’ version

– Adding fibre where adolescents don’t think it belongs!


Conclusions

• Children & adolescents are driven by taste - important to understand likes & dislikes

• Adolescents are hungry! This, together with the need for convenience and the perception that healthy foods won’t fill them up, may be contributors to unhealthy snacking

• Parental influence plays an important role in young people’s food choices; this influence may be positive or negative, usually depending on the age of the child

• Information/Intervention - need to make it easy for young people to put healthy eating messages into practice. However, careful using ‘healthy’ labels as they can lead to negative expectation of the product


Conclusions (2)

• General statements regarding preferred sensory characteristics are difficult to make as preferences can depend on:– Type of product– Age of the child– Individual likes/dislikes– Familiarity & previous exposure to the product– Environmental influences… Etc.

• Balance product innovation with elements of familiarity• Best way to know if your product is liked by children: include

them in your sensory-based consumer research!• Use age-appropriate techniques and language when

conducting sensory & consumer research with children


References

• ASTM Committee E18. Standard Guide of Sensory Evaluation of Products by Children. E2299-03, 1-12. 2003. ASTM International. Sensory Evaluation of Materials and Products.

• Birch L L (1992) Children's Preferences for High-Fat Foods. Nutrition Reviews 50: 249-255.

• Birch LL and Fisher J O (1998) Development of Eating Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics 101: pp 539-549.

• Birch L L and Sullivan S A (1991) Measuring Children’s Food Preferences. Journal of School Health 61 (5): 212-214.

• Brown K, McIlveen H and Strugnell C (2000) Nutritional Awareness and Food Preferences of Young Consumers. Nutrition & Food Science 30: 230-235.

• Cooke L (2004) The Development and Modification of Children's Eating Habits. BNF Nutrition Bulletin 29: 31-35.

• Gilbert C C (2006) Adolescent Food Choices and Preferences: Results of UK Focus Groups. CCFRA R&D Report (In preparation).

• Guinard JX (2000) Sensory and Consumer Testing With Children. Trends in Food Science and Technology 11: 273-283.

• Johnson SL, McPhee L and Birch L L (1991) Conditioned Preferences: Young Children Prefer Flavors Associated With High Dietary Fat. Physiology & Behavior 50: 1245-1251.

• O'Dea, J (2005) Improving adolescent eating habits and prevention of child obesity: Are we neglecting the crucial role of the parents? Nutrition & Dietetics, 62: 66-68.

• Popper R and Kroll J J (2005) Conducting Sensory Research with Children. Journal of Sensory Studies 20: 75-87.

• Wardle J, Herrera M L, Cooke L and Gibson E L (2003b) Modifying Children's Food Preferences: the Effects of Exposure and Reward on Acceptance of an Unfamiliar Vegetable. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57: 341-347.

• http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/462/462_0196AP.html


Thank you for your attention!

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Food and Drink Innovation Network Seminar - Children’s Food and Drink C.C. Gilbert 15.11.06 Young People’s Food Choices and Preferences Chantal C. Gilbert