While the biochemical aspect of food intake are interesting and allow a good understanding of the causes of obesity, other factors need to be considered in order to be able to effectively treat overweight individuals. The wide availability of different foods allows food selection choices to be made that would differ from those that would be made if food was limited in range or availability. What causes people to make particular food selections, and the preconceived notions they may hold about those foods, are one area of research that is starting to show interesting findings. Children appear to be at particular risk of obesity because they tend to consume energy dense foods and do not show restraint when making food decisions in the same way as adults. Children also tend to eat foods that are familiar to them, and show preferences for tastes that have previously been experienced.
Researchers1 have attempted to quantify the expected satiety effects of foods by showing 70 children aged 11 to 12 test food images and then asking for satiety expectations to be given in comparison to a pasta and tomato sauce meal. The test foods included a chocolate bar, processed cheese, chicken nuggets, a corn and potato snack, a jam donut and lemon slice cake. Familiarity with the snack food was associated with anticipated satiety and this association remained even after the researchers made adjustments for how liked the snack food was to the child. This suggests that at a young age, selection of foods for which prior experience has been obtained may be an important determinant of subsequent feeding behaviour. Foods that were not familiar to the children tended to be judged for the satiation based on their volume, which suggests a less complex strategy to determine portion sizes.
There is good evidence that food selection habits are made in early life and that this behaviour is carried into adult life. Accumulation of poor judgement and selection bias in childhood could therefore cause serious ill health during later decades of life. It is important therefore to learn healthy eating behaviour in early life, and this is generally information that is passed on from the parents to their offspring. Children require energy dense foods for growth and development, but foods that are high in calories can be of high or low quality. Food manufacturers are aware of the need for targeting familiarity in their products aimed at children and this is one of the reasons that recognisable characters and colours are used in packaging. The need to address the psychological aspects of food selection in early years may be important in understanding the development of obesity decades later.
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