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What do mothers feed their children and why?
1Nuffield Road Medical Centre, Nuffield Road, Cambridge CB4 1GL, UK.
Health Education Research
|December 10, 1999
Summary
Mothers often choose less healthy foods for children than for themselves, prioritizing practicality over nutrition. Dieting mothers may prioritize themselves even more, potentially harming children's long-term health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Maternal Health Behaviors
- Dietary Interventions
Background:
- Maternal dietary choices significantly impact child nutrition.
- Understanding mothers' food motivations for self versus child is crucial for effective health interventions.
- The influence of maternal dieting behavior on food choices for children is under-researched.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare mothers' self-selected food types and motivations with those chosen for their children.
- To investigate the impact of maternal dieting behavior on these food choice differences.
- To inform the development of targeted health education strategies for families.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional survey of 218 mothers with children aged 5-11 years.
- Questionnaire assessed maternal food behaviors, motivations, and dieting status.
- Comparative analysis of food choices and motivations for self versus child.
Main Results:
- Mothers reported feeding their children less healthy options (more sweets, unhealthy breads/dairy) than themselves.
- Mothers prioritized practicality (cost, availability) and calories for self, but health (nutrition, long-term) for children.
- Maternal dieters showed greater self-prioritization in food choices compared to non-dieters.
Conclusions:
- A discrepancy exists between mothers' stated health priorities for children and their actual food choices.
- Maternal dieting behavior may exacerbate differences in food choices between mothers and children.
- Interventions should consider mothers' own motivations and behaviors, as focusing solely on child diet may be insufficient or detrimental.