Toward an operative diagnosis of fussy/picky eating: a latent profile approach in a population-based cohort

BackgroundDefinitions and assessment methods of fussy/picky eating are heterogeneous and remain unclear.We aimed to identify an eating behavior profile reflecting fussy/picky eating in children and to describe characteristics of fussy eaters.MethodsEating behavior was assessed with the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) in 4914 4-year olds in a population-based birth cohort study. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify eating behavior profiles based on CEBQ subscales.Results and discussionWe found a “fussy” eating behavior profile (5.6% of children) characterized by high food fussiness, slowness in eating, and satiety responsiveness in combination with low enjoyment of food and food responsiveness. Fussy eaters were more often from families with low household income than non-fussy eaters (42% vs. 31.8% respectively; Χ2(1) = 9.97, p < .01). When they were 14 months old, fussy eaters had a lower intake of vegetables (t [3008] = 2.42, p < .05) and fish (t [169.77] = 2.40, p < .05) but higher intake of savory snacks (t [153.69] = -2.03, p < .05) and sweets (t [3008] = -2.30, p < .05) compared to non-fussy eaters. Also, fussy eaters were more likely to be underweight at 4 years of age (19.3%) than non-fussy eaters (12.3%; Χ2(1) = 7.71, p < .01).ConclusionsA distinct fussy eating behavior profile was identified by LPA, which was related to family and child characteristics, food intake, and BMI. This behavior profile might be used in future research and the development of interventions.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

• Publication date

  2014-02-10

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1186/1479-5868-11-14PMID 24512388PMCID 3922255
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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