Age, food neophobia, and whole-grain acceptance in Slovenian adolescents in the context of organized school meals: insights from the national “whole grain” project

Čad, Eva Marija (author), Bolha, Anja (author), Ferjančič, Blaž (author), Bertoncelj, Jasna (author), Zagorc, Naja (author), Korošec, Mojca (author)

Background: Childhood and adolescence represent a critical period for shaping long term dietary habits, including whole grain consumption, which remains low despite well documentedhealthbenefits. Objective: Thiscross-sectionalstudy(November–December2024) examined Slovenian adolescents’ attitudes toward whole-grain foods in the context of or ganized school meals. Methods: Participants aged 10–12 years and 14–19 years (N = 501; meanage15.6 ± 2.6) completed an online questionnaire assessing knowledge, self-reported consumption frequency, preferences, motivational factors, and food neophobia using the translated Italian Child Food Neophobia Scale (ICFNS). Based on ICFNS scores, partic ipants were classified as low (≤17), medium (18–24), or high (≥25) in food neophobia. Results: Older adolescents demonstrated better knowledge of whole-grain health benefits; however, greater knowledge was not associated with higher self-reported consumption. Food neophobia was strongly associated with lower consumption frequency and reduced willingness to try whole-grain foods, including whole-grain bread, oatmeal, buckwheat porridge and brown rice. Across all groups, taste was the most consistent motivator for trying whole-grain foods. Older adolescents prioritized health and appearance as key reasons for eating more whole grain foods. Conclusions: Findings suggest that improving taste, increasing exposure, and leveraging institutional settings such as schools, where availability, preparation, and social cues can be managed, may be effective in promoting whole-grain food consumption.

• Language: English
• Keywords: whole grain, school meals, eating habits, adolescents, acceptance
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 17 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 18, iss. 6, art. 896
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180961
• UDC: 664.661:613.2-053.5/.6
• ISSN on article: 2072-6643
• DOI: doi.org/10.3390/nu18060896
• COBISS.SI-ID: 271570691
• Publication date in RUL: 20.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Nutrients
• Shortened title: Nutrients
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6643
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2948140

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: polnozrnata živila, šolski obroki, mladi potrošniki, prehranske navade, prehranska neofobija