A main characteristic of children perceived as picky eaters is their tendency to avoid certain foods or food groups. The goal of this narrative review is to provide an overview of published studies that have examined whether picky eating in childhood is in fact associated with measurable differences in food and/or nutrient intakes and growth. While picky eaters appear to consume less vegetables compared to non-picky eaters, no consistent differences were observed for the intakes of other food groups or the intakes of energy, macronutrients and dietary fiber. Although, in some studies, picky eaters had lower intakes of certain vitamins and minerals, the levels consumed generally exceeded the recommended values, suggesting nutritional requirements are being met. No consistent relationship between childhood picky eating and growth status was observed, although significant differences in body weight/growth between picky and non-picky eaters were most discernible in studies where multiple defining criteria were used to identify picky eating. The research area would benefit from the adoption of a uniform definition of picky eating. More longitudinal assessments are also required to understand the long-term impact of picky eating on nutritional status and growth.

Factors associated with sweetness preference are multi-faceted and incredibly complex. A scoping review was undertaken to identify determinants of sweetness preference in humans. Using an online search tool, ProQuest ™, a total of 99 publications were identified and subsequently grouped into the following categories of determinants: Age, dietary factors, reproductive hormonal factors, body weight status, heritable, weight loss, sound, personality, ethnicity and lifestyle, previous exposure, disease, and ‘other’ determinants. Methodologies amongst studies were heterogenous in nature (e.g., there was variability across studies in the sweetness concentrations tested, the number of different sweetness concentrations used to assess sweetness preference, and the methods utilized to measure sweetness preference), rendering interpretation of overall findings challenging; however, for certain determinants, the evidence appeared to support predictive capacity of greater sweetness preference, such as age during certain life-stages (i.e., young and old), being in a hungry versus satiated state, and heritable factors (e.g., similar sweetness preferences amongst family members). Recommendations for the design of future studies on sweetness preference determinants are provided herein, including an “investigator checklist” of criteria to consider.