Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2025
A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
Why do parents use packaged infant foods when starting complementary feeding? Findings from phase one of a
Anna Isaacs1, Kimberley Neve2, Corinna Hawkes2
1Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London, Northampton Square, EC1V 0HB, London, UK. anna.isaacs@city.ac.uk.
Insights
Parents choose commercial infant foods for convenience and perceived safety, despite concerns about sugar and salt content. Understanding these perceptions is crucial for public health nutrition policy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
- Consumer Behavior
Background:
- The first 1000 days (conception to age two) are critical for child development.
- UK infant diets are high in sugar and salt, with commercial foods contributing significantly.
- Inconsistencies exist between infant feeding guidelines and commercial product availability, labeling, and marketing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore parental perceptions and purchasing decisions regarding commercial infant foods.
- To understand the factors influencing the choice of packaged purees and snacks for infants.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal qualitative study involving 62 parents/carers of infants aged 4-6 months.
- Data collected through semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation.
- Thematic analysis of interview transcripts focusing on packaged purees and commercial snacks.
Main Results:
- Parents cited convenience, food preparation anxiety, and perceived safety as key reasons for purchasing commercial infant foods.
- Brand influence and the role of commercial snacks in skill development and family routines also played a part.
- Factors influencing choices extended beyond nutritional value to include marketing and perceived non-nutritive benefits.
Conclusions:
- Parental decisions on infant food are complex, influenced by practical concerns, marketing, and social factors.
- Public health nutrition policy must consider these multifaceted parental perceptions.
- Understanding the perceived non-nutritive roles of commercial products is essential for effective policy development.
Background:
The first 1000 days in a child's life, from conception to age two, are a critical period for establishing a child's health and development. One important element is the diet that children receive during this time. Dietary intake of infants in the UK has been shown to be high in sugar and salt, with overall energy intakes exceeding recommendations by the time they are two years of age. Commercial infant food, which forms approximately 40-60% of infants' dietary intake, was identified in 2011 as the main contributor to sugar intake for infants aged 4-9 months in the United Kingdom. Further, evidence demonstrates inconsistencies between national recommendations on infant feeding and some of these products in terms of the type available, their nutritional value and product labelling and marketing. Given their role in infants' diets, it is important to understand parental perceptions of these products and why they are chosen.
Methods:
The study comprised the first phase of an in-depth, longitudinal qualitative study which explored parents' experiences of introducing solid foods to their infants over the first year of feeding. 62 parents/ carers were recruited to this phase when their infants were four-six months old. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and a photo-elicitation exercise. Data from interview transcripts which focused on the purchase and use of packaged purees and commercial snacks were analysed thematically.
Results:
Parents/ carers drew on a range of reasons for buying both packaged purees and commercial snacks for their infants. These included anxiety over food preparation, food safety, convenience, cost effectiveness, the pull of brand eco-systems for packaged purees, and the way in which commercial snacks provide opportunities for safe development of motor skills, keep infants occupied, and allow them to take part in family rituals.
Conclusion:
In considering the use of packaged products as a food source for infants in public health nutrition policy, it is important to understand the broad range of factors that shape parents decisions ranging from the way that products are advertised and perceived, to the non-nutritive roles that they play.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Enteral Nutrition II: Nasointestinal and Gastrostomy Feeding
Nasointestinal Feeding
Nasointestinal feeding involves placing a tube...
01:14Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
01:26Enteral Nutrition I: Orogastric and Nasogastric Feeding
Orogastric (OG) and nasogastric (NG) feeding are two standard methods used for enteral nutrition. Enteral nutrition is often preferred over...