The prevalence and determinants of food neophobia among adolescents and young adults in Zimbabwe
Background: Food neophobia is defined as the fear of trying new foods. Food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa are changing requiring a shift back to promoting the consumption of traditional or underutilized food species “novel foods”. Unfortunately, neophobia is a key barrier to their adoption in most s...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Food Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225001507 |
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| Summary: | Background: Food neophobia is defined as the fear of trying new foods. Food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa are changing requiring a shift back to promoting the consumption of traditional or underutilized food species “novel foods”. Unfortunately, neophobia is a key barrier to their adoption in most settings. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) investigate the prevalence of food neophobia and the willingness to consume edible insects and insect-based food (2) to explore the determinants of food neophobia and willingness to consume insects and insect-based foods among adolescents and young adults in Zimbabwe. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted via the Google Forms platform from April to November 2023 targeted at adolescents (10–19 years) and young adults (20–25 years). The survey comprised a demographic section followed by a standard Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) questionnaire and a standard willingness to eat questionnaire. Results: The sample size was 537 participants with the majority being females (63 %). A greater proportion of the respondents had attained tertiary education (64.8 %). The prevalence of neophobia was 14.4 % while the prevalence for willingness to consume insects and insect-based foods was 39.5 %. The Pearson's chi-squared test results showed some association between neophobia and religion (p = 0.021) with those of the Apostolic sect being more likely to be neophobic. However, binary logistic regression results showed no significant associations between food neophobia and socio-economic and demographic variables (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The study population had low neophobia, implying that they are receptive to novel foods. The willingness to consume insects and insect-based foods was fair implying the age group is entomophagous. Further studies at national level and/or longitudinal studies are required to explore the predictors of neophobia and willingness to consume insects and insect-based food including comparing the rural and urban differences in this age group. This will be useful information to food manufacturers, programme managers and policy makers. |
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| ISSN: | 2772-5022 |