Natural food more mouth-watering to children than processed fare
University of Edinburgh
Researchers
say the tendency in adults to prefer natural food is well documented. However,
the latest findings found this food bias exists in early and middle childhood
as well.
Researchers
at the Universities of Edinburgh and Yale studied the preferences of more than
374 adults and children in the United States when presented with apples and
orange juice and told of their origins.
In one study, 137 children aged six to 10 years old were shown three apples. They were told one was grown on a farm, one was made in a lab, and another grown on a tree inside a lab.
The
team used questionnaires and statistical models to assess the children's apple
preferences in terms of perceived tastiness, perceived safety and desire to
eat. Adults took part in the same study to compare age groups.
Both
children and adults preferred apples they believed were grown on farms to those
grown in labs, researchers found.
Children
were more likely to refer to freshness, being outside, or sunlight when
considering why they chose the farm apple. Adults were more likely to mention
naturalness.
In
a second study, 85 children aged five to seven years old and group of 64 adults
were shown four different kinds of orange juice -- one described as squeezed on
a farm, one with no information about it, one with chemicals allegedly removed
and one described as having chemicals added.
Researchers
found that the information on the juice's naturalness had a significant effect
on its rating. The participants gravitated to the more natural option based on
perceived taste, safety and desire to consume.
Both
studies showed that age had little effect on the outcome, with children as
young as five and as old as ten responding similarly.
Researchers
say the findings suggest the belief that natural foodstuffs are good could be
established at five-years-old -- and possibly even younger.
Dr
Matti Wilks, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology
and Language Sciences, said: "Overall we provide evidence that, at least
in the United States, our tendency to prefer natural food is present in
childhood. This research offers a first step towards understanding how these
preferences are formed, including whether they are socially learned and what
drives our tendency to prefer natural things."
This
study was funded by the Klaus J Jacobs Research Prize, awarded by the Jacobs
Foundation.
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