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. 2024 Nov 17;16(22):3924.
doi: 10.3390/nu16223924.

Dietary Challenges in Children with Gluten-Related Disorders: A Study on Food Neophobia

Julyana Nogueira Firme  1 , Emanuele Batistela Dos Santos  2 , Renata Puppin Zandonadi  3 , Eduardo Yoshio Nakano  4 , Raquel Braz Assunção Botelho  3
Affiliations

Dietary Challenges in Children with Gluten-Related Disorders: A Study on Food Neophobia

Julyana Nogueira Firme et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Food neophobia (FN) in childhood is characterized by resistance to new foods, potentially impairing health and diet quality and impacting physical and mental development. Adequate nutrition in early childhood is crucial to preventing future problems. FN demands special attention, especially in cases of gluten-related disorders (GRD), due to the risks associated with restrictive diets and food allergies. The objective of this study was to investigate and classify the prevalence of FN among Brazilian children aged 4 to 11 years with GRD.

Methods: For this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire validated in Portuguese, with 25 items, assessed FN in three domains: general FN, FN of fruits, and FN of vegetables. Data were collected via Google Forms.

Results: Of 209 children with GRD, the majority were female, 83.7% were diagnosed with celiac conditions, 81.3% followed a diet, and 43.1% had moderate total food neophobia. Brazilian children with GRD have a moderate prevalence of food neophobia. General and vegetable neophobia predominate, while fruit FN is lower. Girls exhibit greater neophobia towards vegetables.

Conclusions: Neophobia does not vary with age, suggesting the persistence of the behavior and potential nutritional challenges in adult life. Differentiated attention to this population is essential to minimize long-term impacts.

Keywords: celiac disease; child; eating behavior; food neophobia; gluten-related disorder.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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