Food Neophobia: Measurement, Variability and Consequences

Abstract

Food neophobia, the fear of consuming unfamiliar foods, is a major impediment to the acceptance of new foods. Some degree of food neophobia is a typical human trait but there are wide individual differences. In this chapter, neophobia is differentiated from several other traits and behaviors that involve resistance to eating certain foods. Techniques for measuring food neophobia are reviewed and the main findings from research on food neophobia are presented. Measurement techniques fall into three categories: (1) self-reports, usually via questionnaires, (2) reports from others, and (3) behavioral measures. Despite various concerns about using self-reports or reports from others, these approaches are easier to implement and interpret than behavioral measures. One self-report measure, the Food Neophobia Survey (FNS), is the primary instrument in the research literature and is a focus of this chapter. Scores on the FNS, along with several other measures of food neophobia, largely possess good psychometric properties, including predictive validity. Research using such methods shows that food neophobia can have a major impact on dietary intake, including reduced acceptance of new foods, less dietary variety, and lower dietary quality. Finally, some promising avenues for increasing the acceptance of new foods despite neophobia are discussed.