Mothers improve their daughters' vegetable intake: a randomized controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Childhood overweight is a growing public health concern, necessitating effective health promotion programs.
• Targeting maternal dietary behaviors is crucial for improving children's nutrition.
• Self-regulation strategies offer a promising avenue for behavior change interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a self-regulation intervention for mothers to increase their daughters' vegetable consumption.
• To assess the short-term and long-term impact of the intervention on children's vegetable intake.
• To explore factors mediating the maintenance of dietary changes.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 155 mothers (aged 25-50 years) and their daughters (aged 6-11 years).
• Intervention group received theory-based instructional leaflets promoting self-regulatory skills for healthy nutrition provision.
• Vegetable consumption was measured by maternal report at baseline, two weeks, and three-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• The self-regulation intervention significantly increased daughters' vegetable intake at the two-week follow-up.
• This increase was not sustained at the three-month follow-up.
• Vegetable consumption at the two-week mark mediated the maintenance of intake at three months.

Conclusions:

• Engaging mothers in self-regulatory health promotion programs is a feasible strategy to improve children's vegetable intake.
• Interventions should consider mechanisms for long-term maintenance of dietary changes.
• Maternal self-regulation skills can positively influence childhood nutrition outcomes.