A METAANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP IN FOOD PREFERENCES BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Acknowledging the interaction of culture, genetics, and socialization among family members, one would expect to find a strong resemblance in food preferences between parents and children. The present investigation employed the technique of meta-analysis to determine the existence and strength of a correlation in parent-child food preferences. A search of the literature identified seven studies meeting the criteria for inclusion; of these, five studies had sufficient data to be included in the analysis. The weighted effect size was calculated at 0.19 for mother-child pairs and 0.14 for father-child pairs. The overall average weighted effect size was 0.17, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.094 to 0.240. This demonstrated a significant correlation, of small magnitude, in the resemblance in food preferences between parents and children. The strength of correlation is similar when maternal and paternal influence is examined separately. The findings of this meta-analysis indicate that the similarity in food preferences between children and their parents would appear to be of small significance as a factor in predicting children's food preferences.