Food Fussiness, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, and Their Correlations With Anthropometric Indices in Children

INTRODUCTION: Literature has consistently reported that fussy eaters usually have restricted food choices, particularly on fruits and vegetables. Insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables among fussy-eating children can result in a lack of essential nutrients needed to support growth and development.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to elucidate the relationships between food fussiness, fresh fruit and vegetable consumption, and anthropometric indices of children residing in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to recruit 179 pairs of consenting caregiver-child. Caregivers were required to report the surveyed child's sex, date of birth, and ethnicity. The six-item food fussiness subscale from the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) was used to assess food fussiness in children. In addition, caregivers were asked to report whether their child had consumed fresh fruits and vegetables over the past month and to list all those they consistently refused to consume. For anthropometric measurements, children's body weight was measured with a digital bathroom scale, and height was measured using a portable stadiometer. Height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) and BMI-for-age z-scores (BAZ) were determined using the WHO Anthro software version 3.2.2 (for children below five) or the WHO AnthroPlus software version 1.0.4 (for children above five). The relationships between the studied variables were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 27.0.

RESULTS: This study revealed that one in two children (54.2%) were fussy eaters, 9.5% did not consume fresh fruits, and 32.4% did not consume fresh vegetables over the past month. The findings from path analyses indicated that food fussiness was negatively correlated with fresh fruit and vegetable consumption. However, there were no significant direct and indirect relationships between food fussiness and anthropometric indices as indicated by HAZ and BAZ of children.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that food fussiness was negatively correlated with fresh fruit and vegetable consumption. Interventions can be carried out by encouraging children to consume fruits and vegetables they typically reject, such as bean vegetables, pear, papaya, and tuberous vegetables, to prevent nutrient deficiency.