The nexus between nature and nurture to address picky eating in Australian children

Picky eating in children is a familiar complaint amongst caregivers however it can contribute to poor dietary intake and overall nutritional status. The nexus between a nurtured lower preference and intake of bitter tasting vegetables and a natural endophenotype sensitivity to bitter taste may underly these picky eating behaviours. Whilst picky eating is commonly measured as parental reported behavioural or appetite trait, a validated tool investigating caregiver perceptions of children’s pickiness for all food groups is understudied. An age-appropriate questionnaire allowing children to self-report their own food preferences is also unchartered. This three-stage cross-sectional study targeting primary caregiver and children (7-12 years) across Australia aims firstly, to examine children’s food preferences via the development and validation of the Picky Eating Questionnaire (PEQ) and Child-reported Food Preference Questionnaire (C-FPQ). Secondly, to investigate bitter taste phenotype of participants by 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taste sensitivity test. Phase 1 (developing and piloting the PEQ and C-FPQ) will invite participants (15–20 caregivers children pairs) for a semi-structured interview after completing the questionnaires. Phase 2 will validate the PEQ and C-FPQ on 369 pairs. Participants in phase 2 will be invited to phase 3 for PROP testing and to record anthropometric measurements for BMI z-score and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) calculation. This study investigates the less explored relationship between picky eating, taste sensitivity and childhood obesity simultaneously, and challenges the notion of simply labelling the child as ‘picky’ by examining the nexus between nature and nurture thereby informing interventions addressing picky eating.