Comparison of food preference and food purchase among urban children between 1998 and 2008

Objective To describe the change in food preference and food purchase of children aged 8-14 years in Guangzhou,Shanghai,Jinan and Harbin,China from 1998 to 2008,and to provide basis for developing intervention strategies.Methods Data from two cross-sectional eating behavior surveys among the urban children conducted in 1998 and 2008 were used for analysis.A total of 6 189 participants aged 8-14 years were selected.The questionnaires were used to collect the information of the food preference and food purchase.Results The proportion of children having the favorite food declined from 78.9% in 1998 to 69.6% in 2008,and the proportion of them having the most disliked food declined from 65.5% to 51.7%.The proportion of children choosing the fruits as the favorite food decreased by 11.3% over 10 years,while the proportion them choosing the snacks(exclude the beverages)as the favorite food increased by 9.9%.There were still 40.0% children disliked eating vegetables.The proportion of children who purchased food always with family basically unchanged during 10 years,and the proportion of them who never purchased food with family increased from 2.4% to 4.1%.Conclusion There are still some unhealthy food preferences in the urban children.Food purchasing basically unchanged after 10 years.Therefore,the urban children and their parents should be targeted on nutrition education to help children to develop healthy eating behaviors.