An examination of food neophobia in older adults

• Published in: Food quality and preference 2019-03, Vol.72, p.143-146
• Main Authors: Soucier, Victoria D., Doma, Katarina M., Farrell, Emily L., Leith-Bailey, Erin R., Duncan, Alison M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Food neophobia; Nutritional risk; Older adults
• ISSN: 0950-3293; 1873-6343
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.10.010

•Food neophobia can be a contributing factor to nutritional risk in older adults.•Average food neophobia score was moderate in a sample of 250 older adults.•Food neophobia was not related to older adult health-related variables. Older adults are the fastest growing demographic worldwide and are also at increased nutritional risk. Food neophobia, the reluctance to eat and/or avoidance of novel foods, can be a contributing factor to nutritional risk and research in older adults is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine food neophobia and attitudes toward new foods in a sample of older adults. A total of 250 community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) were recruited to complete a researcher-administered questionnaire that explored attitudes towards new foods and food neophobia, which was assessed using the 10-question Food Neophobia Scale. Cronbach’s alpha for the Food Neophobia Scale was 0.82, indicating a high degree of internal validity. Food neophobia scores were normally distributed with a mean ± SE of 29.6 ± 0.70. Participants were divided into three groups based on their food neophobia score: low (10–23; n = 81), medium (24–33; n = 88) and high (34–67; n = 81). Participants with a high degree of food neophobia were less willing to try new foods or food products (p