Hyderabad: A study by researchers at the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) has highlighted a link between maternal knowledge, attitudes and feeding practices and food neophobia among young children.
Food neophobia refers to a child's reluctance to try unfamiliar foods. The study, titled “Food neophobia and its determinants among children aged 2–7 years,” was published in the Journal of Nutritional Science.
Researchers examined 150 mother-child pairs from an urban low-income community in Addagutta, Hyderabad, between August and October 2025. The team assessed children's food neophobia using the Child Food Neophobia Scale and evaluated nutritional status using World Health Organization (WHO) anthropometric standards.
Nearly 77% of Children Had Moderate Food Neophobia
According to the findings, 77% of the children showed moderate food neophobia, while 11.3% had high levels and 12% had low levels.
Boys recorded higher average food neophobia scores than girls, but the differences across the categories were not statistically significant.
The study also identified an association between food neophobia and nutritional status. Children experiencing wasting had higher food neophobia scores than children who were not wasted.
Wasting is a form of undernutrition characterised by low weight for a child's height.
Maternal Feeding Practices Linked to Children's Eating Behaviour
The researchers found that children whose mothers had moderate knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) scores recorded lower food neophobia scores than those whose mothers had lower scores.
The findings suggest that parental knowledge and feeding behaviours may play an important role in how young children respond to unfamiliar foods, according to an ICMR-NIN press release.
Lead researcher Dr. Karthikeyan Ramanujam, Scientist-C at ICMR-NIN, said early childhood programmes should encourage positive mealtime experiences. He recommended repeatedly offering children a variety of foods without pressuring them to eat and supporting caregivers when children refuse food.
Researchers Call for Stronger Feeding Counselling
ICMR-NIN Director Dr. Bharati Kulkarni said the findings could help strengthen behavioural feeding counselling through existing programmes, including the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and POSHAN Abhiyaan.
The researchers' recommendations focus on helping caregivers introduce diverse foods in a supportive environment during early childhood.
As the study involved 150 mother-child pairs from a single urban low-income community, its findings may not represent all children across Hyderabad or India. Further research involving larger and more diverse groups could help establish how widely the observed patterns apply.
