Low-income mothers' feeding goals predict observed home mealtime and child feeding practices

Mothers' goals are important for health behavior change, and engagement in child obesity interventions. It is unknown if maternal feeding goals are associated with observed home mealtime or feeding practices. The objective of this study was to examine the association of four common feeding goals (restrict junk food, promote fruit or vegetable intake, promote autonomy in eating and prevent obesity) with mothers' observed home mealtime and feeding practices.

Low-income mothers (N = 265) of children (mean child age 70.8 months) participated in a semi-structured interview about child feeding. A coding scheme was developed and reliably applied to identify mothers' feeding goals from transcripts. Mothers' observed home mealtime and feeding practices were reliably coded from home mealtimes and a laboratory eating protocol. Mothers completed a questionnaire and reported demographics. Participant weights and heights were obtained. Regression models were used to test the association of each feeding goal with observed maternal practices, controlling for covariates.

The goal of restricting junk food was associated with the child always eating at a table (OR 2.87, 95% CI (1.39-5.96) p = 0.005), but not with the mother restricting junk food. The goal of promoting fruit or vegetable intake was associated with observationally promoting vegetables (OR 1.41, 95% CI (1.09-1.84), p = 0.01). The goals of promoting autonomy and preventing obesity were not associated with any observed maternal home mealtime or feeding practices.

While mothers' goals to restrict junk food and promote fruit or vegetable intake were associated with observed home mealtime and feeding practices, promoting autonomy and preventing obesity were not. Increased understanding of why low-income mothers may not translate certain feeding goals into practices may inform childhood obesity interventions.