A holistic exploration of the psychosocial, environmental, neurobiological, and individual factors influencing children’s food choices: a narrative review

Children’s food choices often last into adulthood, playing a crucial role in their long-term health outcomes. Adopting unhealthy eating habits can lead to obesity and chronic diseases. To understand the complexities of children’s eating behaviors, there is a need for a comprehensive examination of many factors that affect their food choices. This narrative review examines the interplay of psychosocial, environmental, neurobiological, and individual-level factors that influence children’s dietary choices. Through a thorough literature search, this review highlights how early dietary habits are predominantly influenced by parental modelling and the home environment. These factors work alongside genetic traits and changes caused by maternal nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Broader factors, such as peer influence, food marketing, school policies, and food availability, can either support or hinder the development of healthy eating habits. Moreover, biological factors, including gut bacteria, hormones that regulate appetite, and the brain’s reward system, significantly influence children’s food preferences. Unlike earlier reviews that examined these influences separately, this review presents a broader perspective on the interplay between these areas. The findings emphasize the need for a multi-level approach that combines individual, family, and community strategies to inform future research and policy aimed at promoting sustainable and healthy eating behaviors among children.