Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Diet and physical activity for children's health: a qualitative study of Nepalese mothers' perceptions
Natalia Oli1, Abhinav Vaidya2, Madhusudan Subedi3
1Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Insights
Mothers in Nepal lack knowledge on healthy diets and physical activity for children, impacting cardiovascular health. Health education programs are crucial to improve maternal understanding and prevent non-communicable diseases.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Cardiovascular Health
- Child Health
Background:
- Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause 50% of deaths in Nepal, with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) accounting for 25%.
- A high burden of behavioral CVD risk factors suggests low knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding cardiovascular health.
- Maternal role is critical in establishing healthy lifestyle behaviors from early childhood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore mothers' perceptions of their children's diet and physical activity in a Nepalese peri-urban community.
- To understand the knowledge, attitude, and practice gaps related to childhood cardiovascular health.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing six focus group discussions with 61 mothers of children aged 5-10 years.
- Data were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
- Participants were grouped by educational status.
Main Results:
- Mothers perceived healthy food as unappetizing and only for sick individuals, indicating a misunderstanding of its composition.
- There was a low prioritization of children's physical activities and a belief of limited maternal control over diet and activity.
- Mothers expressed a need for health educational programs and recommended intervention strategies.
Conclusions:
- Mothers in peri-urban Nepal demonstrate inadequate understanding of healthy diet and physical activity impacts on children's health.
- Targeted health education programs are essential to enhance maternal knowledge, attitude, and behavior for CVD and NCD prevention.
- Improving maternal health literacy is key to preventing future non-communicable diseases in children.
Objectives:
Non-communicable diseases account for 50% of all deaths in Nepal and 25% result from cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies in Nepal indicate a high burden of behavioural cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting a low level of knowledge, attitude and practice/behaviour regarding cardiovascular health. The behavioural foundation for a healthy lifestyle begins in early childhood, when mothers play a key role in their children's lives. This qualitative study, conducted in a Nepalese peri-urban community, aimed to explore mothers' perception of their children's diet and physical activity.
Design:
We notated, tape-recorded and transcribed all data collected from six focus group discussions, and used qualitative content analysis for evaluation and interpretation.
Setting:
The study was conducted in the Jhaukhel-Duwakot Health Demographic Surveillance Site in the Bhaktapur district of Nepal.
Participants:
Local health workers helped recruit 61 women with children aged 5-10 years. We distributed participants among six different groups according to educational status.
Results:
Although participants understood the importance of healthy food, they misunderstood its composition, perceiving it as unappetising and appropriate only for sick people. Furthermore, participants did not prioritise their children's physical activities. Moreover, mothers believed they had limited control over their children's dietary habits and physical activity. Finally, they opined that health educational programmes would help mothers and recommended various intervention strategies to increase knowledge regarding a healthy lifestyle.
Conclusions:
Our data reveal that mothers of young children in a peri-urban community of Nepal lack adequate and accurate understanding about the impact of a healthy diet and physical activity. Therefore, to prevent future cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases among children, Nepal needs health education programmes to improve mothers' cardiovascular health knowledge, attitude and behaviour.
More Related Videos
03:35Determining Gender-Based Differences in Retinal and Choroidal Thickness in Underweight Individuals via Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: December 1, 2023
10:57Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
Related Concept Videos
01:29Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System II: Health Perception Pattern
Health Perception Patterns
Health perception patterns offer valuable insights into a patient's lifestyle habits and how they may impact their GI health. These patterns include:
02:59Cancer Prevention
Some...
01:27Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
01:20Study Designs in Epidemiology
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and...
01:20Lifestyle Factors and Health
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity, whether through structured exercise or casual activities like walking, biking, or dancing, is a cornerstone of a...