PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON THE CHILDHOOD DIET

Psychological influences on the childhood diet are addressed. The focu s is on factors that influence the formation of children's food prefer ences. Evidence for links among food preferences, dietary intake and c hildren's adiposity is presented, with an emphasis on dietary fat. Few food and flavor preferences are innate; most are learned via experien ce with food and eating and involve associative conditioning of food c ues to aspects of the child's eating environment, especially the socia l contexts and physiological consequences of eating. Parents' child-fe eding practices are central in this early feeding environment and affe ct children's food preferences and their regulation of energy intake. An understanding of how children's food preferences are acquired is es sential in developing strategies to improve the quality of children's dietary intake.