Perceptions and reasons for choice of fat- and fibre-containing foods by Swedish schoolchildren

This study investigated schoolchildrenʹs breakfast choices focusing on their reported usual intake and perceptions of fat-reduced or fibre-enriched alternatives. A total of 184 eleven- to fifteen-year-old were asked to participate, and 181 completed the study. Using pictures of food items, the children were instructed to reproduce their usual breakfast, and then breakfasts that would be: healthy, tasty, consumed by their parents, or approved by their parents. Participantsʹ usual breakfast included breads and breakfast cereals containing a higher fibre content than that of the breakfast reported as most palatable. Their usual breakfast also contained products with less fibre than was the case for their healthy or perceived parental norm breakfasts. This may be interpreted as evidence that high-fibre bread and breakfast cereals are perceived as healthy but that consumption of these products is limited by palatability. In contrast to the ambivalence towards cereal products, corresponding disagreements between breakfasts were not observed for milk, and only a small systematic disagreement was observed for spread. Thus, the majority consumed the kind of milk and spread perceived as being healthy, tasty and parentally sanctioned despite the fact that full-fat products were frequently consumed. In conclusion, the results suggest that taste may be a barrier to consumption of high-fibre products, while consumption of low-fat products appears to be impeded by health beliefs.