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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
04:56
Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
Parental perceptions of feeding practices in five European countries: an exploratory study
K Synnott1, J Bogue, C A Edwards
1Department of Food Business and Development, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|January 18, 2007
Summary
Parental infant feeding practices vary across Europe, with most parents breastfeeding and preparing food at home. Cultural differences in information sources and adherence to guidelines highlight challenges in promoting healthy infant diets continent-wide.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Nutrition
- Cross-cultural Studies
- Parental Behavior
Background:
- Infant feeding practices are influenced by a complex interplay of social, cultural, and individual factors.
- Understanding parental perceptions is crucial for developing effective public health interventions.
- Previous research has highlighted variations in infant feeding across different European regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and understand parental perceptions of infant feeding practices in five European countries.
- To identify social and cultural influences on infant feeding behaviors and attitudes.
- To examine parental awareness of healthy infant diets and their information sources.
Main Methods:
- An exploratory investigation utilizing focus group discussions.
- 108 parents with infants up to 12 months participated across Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden.
- Discussions covered food consumption settings, feeding practices, health awareness, information sources, and attitudes towards healthy infant diets.
Main Results:
- Most parents initiated breastfeeding and prepared infant food at home.
- Adherence to official infant feeding guidelines was inconsistent when introducing complementary foods.
- Significant cross-cultural differences were observed in preferred sources of infant feeding information.
Conclusions:
- Cultural variations and similarities in infant feeding attitudes complicate the development of unified European health promotion strategies.
- Parental perceptions, health professional advice, and feeding guidelines all influence infant feeding practices.
- Further research into parental attitudes and beliefs is needed to understand the rationale behind differing infant feeding practices.
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