COMFORT FOOD IN CHILDREN’S NUTRITION – BENEFIT OT THREAT?

Abstract

Comfort food products appeared as a reaction to human necessity of accomplish their requirements for safety, well-eating and nostalgia. Inspired by their parents, children are tended to consume comfort food products, without taking into account their provenience. Nowadays, a large number of food industry companies produce so called „comfort food”, products which lack in sugars, carbohydrates, fats and another series of preserves in order to offer the consumer a similar sensation to that they developed when tasting foods during their childhood. The present study aims at analysing the main factors that influence children’s choice when taking a meal and the impact that the consumption of comfort food may have to their diet and health. The characteristics of comfort food of nowadays – children kind of comfort food - were compared with those of comfort food from last decades – parent’s kind of comfort food.