The Dish-I-Wish open dataset on food preferences and parental influence

FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION. 2026. Vol. 13. Article 1741707.

Radygina A., Zaripova J., Semenova D., Kulikova S.

This paper introduces a novel, open-access dataset designed to advance research into early childhood eating behaviors and their familial determinants. The dataset integrates anthropometric measurements (weight, height, age, BMI, and Estimated Energy Requirement) from 203 children aged 4–14 years alongside rich, granular data on food selection behaviors gathered via Dish-I-Wish—a custom, gamified web application developed specifically for young participants. This instrument enables children to construct meals in two conditions: according to their own preferences and how they think their parents would serve them, thereby capturing both autonomous choices and perceived parental norms. Complementing this child-reported data, a parallel parent module documents household dietary practices and socio-environmental context. The dataset also includes detailed nutritional profiles for all food items presented in the interface, covering caloric content, macronutrient composition (carbohydrates, protein, and fat), portion mass and density, derived from authoritative national and international food composition databases. This dataset provides researchers with a valuable tool for studying children’s eating behaviors by combining their own meal choices with their perceptions of parental norms, all collected via a child-friendly interface. Researchers can use it to explore how family habits shape children’s food preferences, identify early signs of problematic eating patterns, test new methods for dietary assessment in young populations, or build predictive models for nutrition-related outcomes. 

Keywords: дети, nutrition, питание, пищевое поведение, children, food preferences, eating behavior, пищевые предпочтения

Publication based on the results of: Strategic behavior of companies and individuals under conditions of technological transformation in Russia (2025)