Introduction
Children can establish apparently strong likes and dislikes for foods, often because of the way they look rather than taste. Children may have limited knowledge of what healthy eating is which might prevent them from knowing how to make healthy food choices.
Research shows that children's food preferences are driven by two things - energy density and sweetness - and this makes a good deal of sense. Sweet foods have a high energy value and energy-dense foods are sustaining. Both are therefore important for an active child. However, foods that are less energy dense, such as fruits and vegetables, are also important for health as they contain essential vitamins, minerals and fibre. So it's necessary to explain to children what it means to make balanced and informed choices when it comes to food.
We have based the content of this section of the site on research - read more about the research here.