Self-reported healthy dietary behavior relates to parental attitudes on child feeding, health and diet quality.
Mäkelä, Irene (2021-03-22)
Self-reported healthy dietary behavior relates to parental attitudes on child feeding, health and diet quality.
(22.03.2021)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
suljettu
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe202104099922
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe202104099922
Tiivistelmä
Parents influence their children´s diet greatly as seen in earlier research. In addition, it
is known that both diet and obesity in childhood tend to persist and therefore affect to
the risk of several chronic lifestyle related diseases in years to come. The aim of this
study is to examine the parental attitudes on child feeding and it´s health dependency
and the differences between parents, who self-perceived to follow a healthy diet to
those who do not. Also, differences in child’s diet quality and prevalence of obesity were
compared between the groups. The significance is to learn more about these factors so
that the information would be benefited on child health clinics nationwide.
Altogether, 738 parents with their 2- to 6-year-old child were included to the study.
Children´s diet quality was assessed by a validated index (Children’s Index of Diet
Quality, CIDQ). Information was collected in the children´s regular visits in child health
clinics by a semi-structured questionnaire, which included the sources of information
influencing feeding, the diverse factor´s that parents consider whilst feeding their child,
the parental attitudes on child feeding and health in addition to the parental background
factors. Nurses in the child health clinics measured and reported the heights and
weights of the children. The parents were divided into two groups; health-conscious
(HC) (n = 396) and non-health-conscious (non-HC) parents (n = 342) based on their
self-perceived report to follow a healthy diet and the differences between parents were
statistically analyzed.
Study demonstrated that HC-parents were more aware of the long-time health effect of
the childhood diet. Further, they considered the health and nutrition factors more often
in the feeding situation, and their children’s diet quality was also better than the non-HC-parents´
children’s diet. The HC-parents´ children were more often underweight or
normal weight, as compared to the non-HC-parents´ children, who were more
commonly overweight or obese. This study supports earlier observations about the
importance of parents´ attitudes and feeding habits regarding their child´s diet and it´s
health dependency, as for we suggest them to affect to the children´s diet. The concept
of programming later health by childhood nutrition was seen rather important in both
groups, but more wide knowledge would be preferable. These results underline the
importance of conversation between the health care professionals and parents about
their food related attitudes. In addition, the encouragement of parents to pay attention to
their own diet (concept of positive parental role modelling) would be beneficial for
responding the urgent need of improvement of childhood diet quality.
is known that both diet and obesity in childhood tend to persist and therefore affect to
the risk of several chronic lifestyle related diseases in years to come. The aim of this
study is to examine the parental attitudes on child feeding and it´s health dependency
and the differences between parents, who self-perceived to follow a healthy diet to
those who do not. Also, differences in child’s diet quality and prevalence of obesity were
compared between the groups. The significance is to learn more about these factors so
that the information would be benefited on child health clinics nationwide.
Altogether, 738 parents with their 2- to 6-year-old child were included to the study.
Children´s diet quality was assessed by a validated index (Children’s Index of Diet
Quality, CIDQ). Information was collected in the children´s regular visits in child health
clinics by a semi-structured questionnaire, which included the sources of information
influencing feeding, the diverse factor´s that parents consider whilst feeding their child,
the parental attitudes on child feeding and health in addition to the parental background
factors. Nurses in the child health clinics measured and reported the heights and
weights of the children. The parents were divided into two groups; health-conscious
(HC) (n = 396) and non-health-conscious (non-HC) parents (n = 342) based on their
self-perceived report to follow a healthy diet and the differences between parents were
statistically analyzed.
Study demonstrated that HC-parents were more aware of the long-time health effect of
the childhood diet. Further, they considered the health and nutrition factors more often
in the feeding situation, and their children’s diet quality was also better than the non-HC-parents´
children’s diet. The HC-parents´ children were more often underweight or
normal weight, as compared to the non-HC-parents´ children, who were more
commonly overweight or obese. This study supports earlier observations about the
importance of parents´ attitudes and feeding habits regarding their child´s diet and it´s
health dependency, as for we suggest them to affect to the children´s diet. The concept
of programming later health by childhood nutrition was seen rather important in both
groups, but more wide knowledge would be preferable. These results underline the
importance of conversation between the health care professionals and parents about
their food related attitudes. In addition, the encouragement of parents to pay attention to
their own diet (concept of positive parental role modelling) would be beneficial for
responding the urgent need of improvement of childhood diet quality.