Structured sorting using pictures as a way to study nutritional and hedonic perception in children

• This work studies the nutritional and hedonic perception in children of 5 yo, 7 yo and 9 yo.
• Structured sorting with images was proposed as a tool to study complex concepts.
• The task was well understood and easily performed by 5 yo, 7 yo and 9 yo.
• All groups showed good knowledge of the nutritional aspects of the tested foods.

A good insight about the development of food choice patterns and the reasons behind eating healthy or unhealthy food is of particular importance as nutritional influences on health can be established early in childhood. Sensory and consumer testing with children can be very valuable for that aim but it requires appropriate protocols due to their cognitive abilities and attention spans. In this work, structured sorting was proposed as a tool to study children’s nutritional understanding and hedonic perception of various healthy and less healthy, “junky” foods. The task was well understood and easily performed by the three studied age cohorts (5 yo, 7 yo, 9 yo). The structured sorting with the use of images appeared as a promising tool to study children holistic perception of products considering multidimensional concepts, in this particular case demonstrated by the fact that they were able to classify products taking into account healthiness and hedonic perception at the same time.