Related Experiment Videos
Connections between parental eating attitudes and children's meagre eating: questionnaire findings
S Saarilehto1, S Keskinen, H Lapinleimu
1Cardiorespiratory Research Unit, University of Turku, Finland.
Insights
Parental eating habits influence children's eating behaviors. A study found that parents' enjoyment of food, snacking, and weight management influenced their children's picky eating. This highlights the importance of parental role modeling in child nutrition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Childhood eating problems, such as picky eating, are common and can have long-term health implications.
- Parental eating habits and attitudes are hypothesized to play a significant role in shaping children's dietary behaviors.
- Understanding this relationship can inform interventions aimed at improving children's nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between parental eating habits and attitudes and problematic, meagre eating in young children.
- To determine if specific parental eating behaviors predict persistent eating problems in children.
- To explore the influence of both maternal and paternal eating patterns on child eating behavior.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study involving 397 children and their parents.
- Parental eating behaviors assessed via questionnaires at child's 13 months of age.
- Children's eating problems recorded by parents at 13 months and 5 years; child anthropometrics measured at both ages.
Main Results:
- A significant association was found between parental and children's eating habits.
- Maternal factors like low enjoyment of eating, frequent snacking, and not eating when hungry predicted children's picky eating.
- Paternal difficulty in maintaining ideal weight also predicted persistent meagre eating in children.
Conclusions:
- Parental eating habits and attitudes are reflected in the eating behaviors of young children.
- Maternal and paternal eating patterns significantly influence the development of children's eating problems.
- Interventions targeting parental eating behaviors may be effective in addressing childhood picky eating.
Unlabelled:
This study investigated whether young children's problematic, meagre eating is associated with the eating habits and attitudes of the parents. The subjects, 397 children, their mothers (n = 397) and fathers (n = 375) participated in a prospective atherosclerosis risk-factor intervention trial. The parents evaluated their own eating behaviour in questionnaires when their child was 13 mo old. The children's eating problems were recorded by the mothers when the child was 13 mo old, and by both parents when the child was 5 y old. At both ages, the weight and height of the children were measured. Problematic or maladaptive eating habits of the children were found to be connected to those of their parents. The mother's poor ability to enjoy eating, high tendency to snack and low tendency to eat only when hungry, as well as the father's difficulty in maintaining ideal weight significantly predicted persistent problems of meagre eating in their children.
Conclusion:
The study suggests that the eating habits and attitudes of parents may be reflected in the eating behaviour of young children.