An Examination of Food Neophobia in Older Adults

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, including functional 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 older adults. A total of 250 community-dwelling older adults (65+ years) were recruited to complete a researcher-administered validated questionnaire that explored attitudes towards new foods and food neophobia, which was assessed using the 10-question Food Neophobia Scale (Pliner & Hobden, 1992). 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 < 0.001). Participant demographics (age, sex, ethnicity, education, annual household income) and health characteristics (number of prescription medications and health conditions) did not significantly differ among food neophobia groups. These data contribute to the limited literature on food neophobia in older adults and supports the need for further investigation into potential determinants of food neophobia (Supported by the OMAFRA-University of Guelph partnership).