Comparison of college students' current eating habits and recollections of their childhood food practices

In order to investigate the stability of food habits from childhood into late adolescence, we compared the current racing habits of college students and their recollections of their childhood caregivers' feeding practices. The 546 subjects responded to a questionnaire sent to 1000 18- to 23-year-old college students. Subjects' current eating habits were related to their recollections of their caregivers' feeding practices and their own food habits when the subjects were children. For example, current habits such as eating all food on the plate, using food as an incentive, eating dessert, and eating regularly scheduled meals were dependent on those feeding practices being used by caregivers during the respondent's childhood. In addition, current consideration of nutrition when selecting food was dependent on caregivers talking about nutrition. This study contributes to existing literature that links parent-child feeding relationships to the development of an individual's relationship with food.