Abstract
Recently it has been recognized that diet in childhood influences not only the immediate health of children but also may have an impact in a positive or negative manner on the future adult health status of children. We should be encouraged to understand the present status of the diets of children, and introduce early the importance of the optimal diets early in children.
Our objectives were to assess trends in food preferences.2584 Japanese school children aged 9 to 12 years in Kitakyushu City were investigated through a questionnaire which contained the question about a one-sided diet. The following conclusions were obtained.
1) Most kinds of vegetables were disliked by large percentages of children. This tendency in older children was more significant than in those who were younger.
2) Generally children preferred animal foods, especially meat, to vegetable foods, and both yogurt and fruits were the most favorite foods of all.
3) The number of children who liked carrots, fish, bread, or instant Chinese noodles decreased significantly between the third grade and the sixth grade.
4) There were no statistical differences in the trends in food preferences between boys and girls.
5) Approximately 15% of the children in each grade were likely to be on one-sideddiets, and this rate was stable in spite of ages.
6) The results documented in this article showed various problems concerning the diet of children. Some of them for older children were more significant than for those who were younger and others did not improve as the age increased. The style of food preferences for each grade was also quite similar, and this suggested the importance of “Education for both nutrition and self-concept of the chiidren toward optimal diets” at a much younger age.
