Relationship Between Food Neophobia and Dietary Habits in Turkish Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Food neophobia (FN) is an issue that can affect the food choices and nutritional status of individuals. Objective: This study aimed to determine FN levels of adults and to evaluate the nutritional habits and food consumption frequencies according to these levels. Materials and Methods: The study is cross-sectional and was conducted with 1681 volunteers aged between 20 and 64 years old. The data were obtained by face-to-face interview method using the general characteristics, a food consumption frequency form including 45 types of foods, questions related to eating habits (frequencies of the daily main meal, snack, skipping meal), and the Turkish Form Food Neophobia Scale (T-FNS). Individuals were divided into three groups neophilic, neutral, and neophobic according to their T-FNS scores. Results: Of the participants, 22.8% (n=384) were neophilic, 53.0% (n=890) were neutral, and 24.2% (n=407) were neophobic. The mean T-FNS scores were found to be statistically significantly different in groups gender (t=3.369, p=0.001), age (t=-3.408, p=0.001), educational status (F=8.699, p<0.001), marital status (t=-5.207, p<0.001), employment status (F=5.991, p<0.001), and presence of disease (t=3.467, p=0.001). Mean consumption of meat, egg, and legumes group in neophilics (176.14±96.58 g/day) compared to neutrals (160.30±96.48 g/day), fresh fruit consumption in neophobics (137.38±124.94 g/day) /day) compared to neutrals (107.51±101.57 g/day) were higher (F=4.018 p=0.018, and F=10.668 p=<0.001, respectively). Consumption of cream cheese, margarine, chocolate, fruit juice, and alcoholic beverages also differed between groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that FN may affect nutritional status. However, there is a necessity for large-scale studies investigating the relationship between FN and nutritional status.