Restricting access to palatable foods affects children’s behavioral response, food selection, and intake.

Background:
Many parents restrict the diets of their children in the hopes that better food selections will be made if unhealthier items are not an option.

Objective:
To determine whether restricting access to a palatable food creates increased desire for and intake of that specific food.

Sample:
Experiment 1- 31 children between the ages of 3-5 attending day care at the Pennsylvania State University Child Development Laboratory, and their parents.
Experiment 2- 36 children between the ages of 3-6 attending day care at the Pennsylvania State University Child Development Laboratory, and their parents.

Methods:
The design consisted of 2 separate experiments containing an observation period, a phase where one food was restricted, and another observation period.
Experiment 1 – A food was chosen that the children did not favor or dislike. Two flavors of the same cookie bar were chosen as the control food and target food. Each participant was asked both before and after the restriction phase which bar they would prefer. Also, consumption of both flavors by each student was measured before and after the restriction phase. During the restriction phase, children’s comments and attempts to gain access to the restricted food were recorded.
Experiment 2 – A different food was chosen that the children did not favor or dislike. A survey was completed by the participants’ parents to determine the nature of their personal restriction on food intake. During the unrestricted phase, participants were allowed unlimited access to both foods. During the restricted phase, the participants were still allowed unlimited access to the control food, but were only allowed to eat the restricted food for 5 minutes out of 15 in the session.

Results:
Experiment 1 determined that restriction of a specific food, which the child didn’t favor or dislike, resulted in an increased desire for that food and more attempts to obtain it. This response was greater for boys than for girls. However, in the observation period following the restriction period, there was no significant effect of the restriction in terms of intake or selection of that food.

Experiment 2 determined that participants’ desire was also increased during the restricted period. The weight status of the children were positively related to parental restriction (the higher the restriction, the higher the child’s relative weight).

Discussion:
Parents tend to restrict the amount of foods high in sugar and fat in the diets of their children, but these experiments show that this restriction is accompanied by an increased desire for those restricted items. Children snack 2-3 times per day and these snacks make up as much as 25% of their energy intake. This research suggests that children who are perpetually restricted from certain food items will preferentially choose and eat the same foods that are being restricted when given the choice.

Article:
Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (1999) Restricting access to palatable foods affects children’s behavioral response, food selection, and intake. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 69, 1264-1272.