Food is never enough: nature and nurture's influence on children's food dose evaluation.
This study investigated whether if socioeconomic factors and\or food palatability influence food amount evaluation among children. Ninety-four children, 10-15 years old, living in Mali in Africa, and 124 living in northern Italy were asked to evaluate an amount of palatable and non palatable candies. The evaluations were compared both to the real number of candies and to that given by the other group. Both Italian and Malian children underestimated the edible candies, interestingly however Malian children did not underestimate altered candies. The data suggest that food dose underestimation is a transcultural characteristic. Evaluation of palatable food is not influenced by socio cultural factors. Underestimation could be a biological protective factor against food shortage; in case of food abundance it could play a role in onset and maintenance of obesity.
Vinai
Piergiuseppe
P
Studi Cognitivi research group, Post-graduate Cognitive Psychotherapy School, Milano, Italy. piervinai@tin.it
Carpegna
Gabriella
G
Cardetti
Silvia
S
Ferrato
Noemi
N
Vallauri
Paola
P
Masante
Donatella
D
Meister
Alexandra
A
Ruggiero
Giovanni Maria
GM
Sassaroli
Sandra
S
D000293:Adolescent; D001066:Appetite; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D002182:Candy; D002648:Child; D003118:Color Perception; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D003906:Developing Countries; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012903:Smell; D013649:Taste; D014796:Visual Perception; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*