Determinants and adequacy of food consumption of children in La Trinidad,the Philippines

In the Philippines, vitamin A and vitamin C deficiencies, particularly among children, is a pressing health problem. This article reports the results of a research project that aimed at gaining insight into the factors in the household context that influence food intake of children and the role these factors play in vitamin A and vitamin C deficiencies. The research was carried out in La Trinidad, an urban area in the Philippines, where sufficient nutritious foods proved to be available. The results show that household income has only a minor impact on nutritional status. The nutritional status of children seems to be primarily influenced by their food preferences and the level of parental control on their food intake.     

Exploring the capability to reason backwards: An experimental study with children,adolescents, and young adults

This is the first study investigating the development of the capability to reason backwards in children, adolescents, and young adults aged 6 to 23 under controlled laboratory conditions. The experimental design employs a modified version of the race game. As in the original game, subjects need to apply backward analysis in order to solve the games. We find that subjects’ capability to reason backwards improves with age, but that this process systematically differs across genders. Our repetition of the games indicates that differences exist also in learning between age groups and across genders.     

Future for food education of children

Food plays an important role in the daily life and wellbeing of children. Childhood food experiences are important guides to eating behaviour in adults. Food is full of properties that we perceive with our senses of smell, touch, hearing, sight and taste. We live in individual sensory worlds, and our food perception processes are also individual. Children actively investigate food during eating and cooking. By encouraging their excursion into the world of food culture and food activities, we support them in expanding their food preferences. This paper is based on the “Future for food education” workshop in the Future for Food Conference and focuses on the knowledge applied to the sensory-based food education for children. Examples of food education practices from Finland and Denmark are presented. The learning café method was used for the workshop attendees to outline the food education possibilities. The key issues were discussed in groups and included such topics as: “Who should perform the food education activities?” and “Who will benefit in the future from food education?” The workshop presentations and discussions indicate that there is a need for the advancement and research of food education for children.