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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes
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Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

Maternal nutritional knowledge and child anthropometric outcomes in preschool children: A cross-sectional study

Sebahat Cam1, Ozlem Kalaycik Sengul1, Atila Kilic1

  • 1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr. Suleyman Yalcin City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkiye.

Northern Clinics of Istanbul
|July 28, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Maternal nutritional knowledge was adequate but did not directly impact child growth. Interventions should focus on practical skills and socioeconomic factors, not just knowledge transfer for better child nutrition outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Maternal Health

Background:

  • Childhood nutrition is crucial for development.
  • Maternal nutritional knowledge is a potential factor influencing child health.
  • Understanding the determinants of maternal knowledge is key for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Evaluate nutritional knowledge in mothers of young children.
  • Analyze knowledge variations based on maternal demographics (age, education, income).
  • Investigate the link between maternal knowledge and child anthropometric measurements.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 282 mothers and their preschool-aged children.
  • Assessed nutritional knowledge using validated scales (Basic Nutritional Knowledge, Food Preference).
  • Measured maternal awareness and self-assessment, alongside child height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores.

Main Results:

  • Mothers generally had adequate Basic Nutritional Knowledge.
  • Maternal education was the strongest predictor of knowledge and self-assessment.
  • No significant association found between maternal nutritional knowledge and children's growth indicators.

Conclusions:

  • Adequate nutritional knowledge does not automatically ensure competent food choices or healthy self-perception.
  • The relationship between maternal knowledge and child growth is indirect and complex.
  • Nutrition interventions need to incorporate practical skills and address socioeconomic influences on dietary behavior.
Abstract

Keywords:
Child anthropometrymothersnutritional knowledgepreschool children

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