Influencers of children’s vegetable liking – A look from a social and cultural perspective

Abstract

This study examined how similar vegetable liking by children is to their peers’, sib- lings’, and mothers’. Three hundred and eighty-four children (ages 5–12) and their mothers, from three countries—Chile, China, and the United States, tasted and rated 14 different vegetables for liking. To evaluate how children’s vegetable liking varies with their social environment, we developed the degree of liking difference index, which is the sum of absolute differences between the likings of the child with the lik- ings of a second person. Results suggest that country, child’s age, and sensory modal- ities (appearance, aroma, taste and texture) are important factors that influence how much a child’s vegetable liking resembles their mothers’, peers’, and siblings’. Chil- dren’s vegetable liking resemblance with their family and peers was greatest in China, followed by the United States, and finally Chile. Children’s vegetable liking was most similar to that of their siblings, followed by mothers, and finally peers, with similarity to all three groups tending to increase as children’s ages increased.