HSE Researchers Compile Scientific Database for Studying Children’s Eating Habits
The database created at HSE University can serve as a foundation for studying children’s eating habits. This is outlined in the study ‘The Influence of Age, Gender, and Social-Role Factors on Children’s Compliance with Age-Based Nutritional Norms: An Experimental Study Using the Dish-I-Wish Web Application.’ The work has been carried out as part of the HSE Basic Research Programme and was presented at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.
In addition, an article in the form of a data report (which formed the basis of the conference presentation) has been published in the academic journal Frontiers in Nutrition. The study was conducted by a team from the HSE Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience in Perm, including Anna Radygina, Julia Zaripova, Daria Semenova, and Sofya Kulikova.
The aim of the research was to provide a comprehensive analysis of how age, gender, and social-role factors (a child’s autonomous choice versus choices made according to perceived parental norms) influence the adequacy of food choices among children aged 4–14 in a controlled virtual buffet environment. This age range was selected to encompass key stages in the development of children’s eating behaviour—from the formation of stable food preferences in preschool years to the onset of puberty, when social influence intensifies and conscious attitudes towards food and body image begin to develop. The survey was conducted in kindergartens and schools during the summer school holidays. Parents gave voluntary consent for participation, but they were not present during the children’s surveys, which helped eliminate parental influence on respondents’ answers.
Daria Semenova
‘Unlike parental surveys, which often produce subjective or socially desirable responses, our approach allows the child to express their genuine preferences independently in an engaging format,’ said Daria Semenova, Junior Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience in Perm. ‘We also ask children to show which meal they believe their parents would choose for them. This helps reveal the gap between the child’s internal desires and their perception of parental control.’
A distinctive feature of the study is that data on children’s food preferences was collected directly from children themselves rather than from parents, using the specialised Dish-I-Wish web application. This application was developed by staff at the HSE Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience together with HSE University students in Perm. It is currently registered as intellectual property No. 5.0109-2025.
Data collection through the application was organised as follows: in an engaging game-like format, each child was asked to sequentially construct three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During the first stage, the child made choices as though they could independently decide what and how much to eat. In the second stage, which was structurally identical, the child was asked to complete the same task again, but this time selecting dishes and portion sizes as they believed their parents would choose for them. This design makes it possible to directly compare the child’s own preferences with their perception of parental norms. For each meal, the application provides a visual menu. The child customises the contents of a virtual plate by selecting dishes from an image carousel and adjusts portion sizes using an intuitive slider. The selected foods are displayed on the plate as coloured segments, with their size proportional to the chosen portion. An example of the interface is shown in the illustration.
The dataset collected using Dish-I-Wish includes children’s anthropometric data (weight, height, age, BMI, and estimated energy requirements), detailed nutritional profiles of dishes (calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and food density), as well as parental information about family eating habits (such as whether the family usually eats at home or in restaurants), household income, allergies, and the child’s appetite.
Anna Radygina
‘Our dataset is not merely a collection of survey tables. It represents behavioural data gathered in controlled yet natural conditions for children. We hope that open access to it will enable researchers around the world to develop more accurate models of children’s eating behaviour and design effective preventive programmes,’ added Anna Radygina, a co-author of the study.
The dataset has been deposited in the open-access repository Figshare, where it is available to all interested users.
See also:
Team Success: Aligning Means with Objectives
In corporations, sports, and academia, people often face challenges they cannot handle alone. In such cases, selecting the right team is crucial. Tatiana Mayskaya, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences and the International College of Economics and Finance, together with colleagues from foreign universities, examined team characteristics and found that less diverse teams are better suited to objectives where a high average performance is important, whereas more diverse teams are preferable when avoiding failure is critical. The paper has been published in Economic Theory.
Economists Propose More Effective Approach to Reducing Smoking
Economists at HSE University have examined how smokers respond to changes in cigarette prices. When tobacco prices increase, cigarette consumption does not always decline. In fact, spending on tobacco may even rise: according to the researchers, a 1% decrease in cigarette affordability leads to a 0.28% increase in per capita tobacco expenditure. The findings suggest that to reduce smoking rates, tobacco prices must rise faster than household incomes. The study has been published in Voprosy Statistiki.
Biologists Discover Unique Properties of MiR-93-5p MicroRNA in Prostate Cancer
Researchers at the International Laboratory of Microphysiological Systems of the HSE Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology investigated how different isoforms of the same microRNA influence gene function in prostate adenocarcinoma. The study found that in some cases, microRNAs can reinforce each other’s effects by targeting and suppressing the same genes. This finding offers a fresh perspective on the molecular mechanisms underlying tumour development and on the search for disease biomarkers. The results have been published in PeerJ.
HSE Researchers Provide the World’s First Legal Definition of a Digital Ecosystem
Digital ecosystems have evolved from a technological innovation into a fundamental institution of the modern economy over the past few years. According to HSE University’s latest estimates, they account for 8.5% of Russia’s GDP. Previously, no jurisdiction had a statutory definition of what constitutes a digital ecosystem. HSE University researchers have addressed this gap by proposing the first legal concept of a digital ecosystem. Their article, ‘The Digital Ecosystem as a Novel Economic Phenomenon and Legal Concept,’ has been published in the BRICS Law Journal.
HSE Economists Use Search Queries to Forecast Birth Rates
Researchers from the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences have shown that the accuracy of birth rate forecasts for Russia can be improved by almost 50% by incorporating the dynamics of online search queries related to pregnancy and childbirth into forecasting models. In the best-performing models, the forecasting error fell from 4.6% to 3.2%. The findings have been published in Populations and Economics.
When Looking at Their Own Faces, Men Forget Everything
In an experiment involving 15 healthy men, scientists at HSE University investigated how different phases of the cardiac cycle influence the excitability of the motor cortex when participants viewed either their own photograph or the faces of strangers. The researchers found that when participants looked at their own image, the brain’s response to signals from the heart was weaker, meaning that the influence of cardiac activity on the motor cortex decreased. This finding came contrary to expectations, as self-focused attention was thought to enhance the brain's sensitivity to internal bodily signals. The study has been published in Frontiers in Signal Processing.
HSE Researchers Discover Who Eats Out in Russia—And Why
Around one-third of Russians (31.3%) rarely eat out or buy ready-made meals. The core group of active consumers—those who eat out or purchase prepared food almost every day or several times a week—accounts for only about 9% of the population. These are the findings of a study conducted by the HSE Institute for Social Policy. According to the researchers eating out is no longer a marker of high social status in Russia.
Scientists Model How Interactions Between Societies Can Trigger Chaotic Behaviour
Scientists at HSE MIEM have proposed a mathematical model explaining how interactions between societies can influence their stability. Based on the classical theory of evolutionary games, the study reveals an unexpected effect: even a weak informational influence of one society on another can cause one society to remain stable while the other exhibits chaotic behaviour among its individual members. The study has been published in the International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos.
Ancient Craniiform Brachiopod: A Newly Discovered Species with a Unique Shell Shape and Lifestyle
Scientists from HSE University, MSU, and Tallinn University of Technology have studied a fossil species of ancient brachiopods that lived in a warm sea in what is now northern Estonia more than 445 million years ago. These ancient brachiopods developed a cup-shaped shell with a protective 'cap' that shielded them from overgrowth by other marine organisms. The study has been published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Scientists Develop Bacterium-Sized Microlaser
An international team of researchers, including scientists from HSE University–St Petersburg, has developed microlasers that emit deep-ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 255 nanometres. The devices operate at room temperature, and the smallest of them measures just two micrometres in diameter—roughly the size of a bacterium. These microlasers could be used in sensors, spectroscopic systems, photonic chips, and communication devices. The paper has been published in Optics & Laser Technology.