Demographic, familial and trait predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption by pre-school children

Objective: To identify determinants of fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among school-aged children. Design: A survey study was conducted in October 2010. The questionnaire contained questions concerning social and demographic data, lifestyle and dietary habits, particularly the frequency of F&V consumption, availability of F&V and knowledge about recommended amounts of F&V intake. Setting: Polish primary schools. Subjects: Children (n 1255) aged 9 years from randomly selected primary schools and their parents. Results: The children's consumption of fruit and of vegetables was influenced by the fruit consumption and vegetable consumption of their parents (r = 0·333 and r = 0·273, respectively; P = 0·001), parents encouraging their children to eat F&V (r = 0·259 and r = 0·271, respectively; P = 0·001), giving children F&V to take to school (r = 0·338 and r = 0·321, respectively; P = 0·001) and the availability of F&V at home (r = 0·200 and r = 0·296, respectively; P = 0·001). Parental education influenced only the frequency of fruit consumption (r = 0·074; P = 0·01). A correlation between parents' knowledge of the recommended intakes and the frequency of vegetable and fruit consumption by children was noticed (r = 0·258 and r = 0·192, respectively, P = 0·001). Conclusions: Factors within the family environment such as parents' dietary habits and F&V availability had the greatest influence on the F&V consumption by children. Educational activities aimed at parents are crucial to increase the consumption of F&V among children. Keywords Vegetable consumption Fruit consumption Children nutrition Determinants of consumptionChildhood is a crucial period within the process of shaping correct dietary habits, including the consumption of fruit and vegetables (F&V) (1) . Studies show that the dietary habits and preferences shaped during childhood and adolescence are continued into adult life (1,2) and that a diet rich in vegetables and fruit lowers the risk of many chronic diseases (3) . There are many factors which may influence the consumption of F&V by children. Apart from preferences, these factors include age, sex, domicile, social and economic factors, parents' education, parents' dietary habits concerning the consumption of F&V and the availability of F&V at home (4)(5)(6)(7) . Studies show that the consumption of F&V by children from different populations, including Polish children, is unsatisfactory, deviating from the recommendations on the amounts and well as the frequency of consumption (4,(8)(9)(10)(11) .F&V constitute a very important element of healthy nutrition. In a child's diet there should be approximately five portions of F&V each day. These foods are a vital source of antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals. That is why they are a necessary element of a daily diet (3) . The majority of benefits from eating F&V result from the lowering of the risk of CVD, but F&V may also lower the risk of certain kinds of cancer. Research from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrit...

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors within the family environment such as parents’ dietary habits and fruit and vegetable availability have the greatest influence on fruit and vegetable consumption by Polish children

Wolnicka

Taraszewska

Jaczewska-Schuetz

et al. 2015

“…A growing number of epidemiological studies have been published showing the association of infant feeding practices with later intake of fruit and vegetables (13)(14)(15)(16)(17) . To our knowledge, however, this association has not previously been described in non-Western populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding practices in early life and later intake of fruit and vegetables among Japanese toddlers: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study

Okubo

Miyake

Sasaki

et al. 2015

Objective: A growing body of evidence from Western countries shows that infant feeding practices are associated with later childhood dietary habits, but little is known about these relationships in non-Western countries with different food cultures. We examined the association of breast-feeding duration and age at introduction of solid foods with later intake of fruit and vegetables among Japanese toddlers. Design: Information on breast-feeding duration, age at introduction of solid foods and child's intake frequency of fruit and vegetables were collected with a selfadministered questionnaire at 16-24 months postpartum. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios of low intake (<1 time/d) of fruit or vegetables for each infant feeding practice. Setting: Japan. Subjects: Japanese mother-child pairs (n 763) from a prospective birth cohort study. Results: Neither breast-feeding duration nor age at introduction of solid foods was associated with fruit intake at 16-24 months of age. Breast-feeding duration, but not age at introduction of solid foods, was associated with later intake of vegetables. When breast-feeding duration was categorized into two groups with the cut-off at 6 months, children who were breast-fed for ≥6 months had a significantly decreased risk of low intake of vegetables (OR = 0·53; 95 % CI 0·34, 0·84) than those breast-fed for <6 months. This association was independent of potential confounders including maternal education and maternal vegetable intake (OR = 0·59; 95 % CI 0·36, 0·97). Conclusions: This finding suggests that ≥6 months of breast-feeding may prevent low intake of vegetables in early childhood among Japanese toddlers.

“…Children in high SES families, for example, drink fewer soft drinks and consume more fruits, vegetables, high-fibre bread, cereals, vitamins and foods low in monounsaturated fats than children in low SES homes 9,10 . In addition, children of mothers with more education eat more vegetables 11 , and parents' higher education is associated with a more desirable level of nutrient and vitamin intake in children 12 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of parents' educational background in healthy lifestyle practices and attitudes of their 6-year-old children

Stenhammar

Sarkadi

Edlund

2007

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine parents' reported and desired frequencies (practices vs. attitudes) of their 6-year-old children's meals, nutritional intake and lifestyle components, as well as possible obstacles and desired support with respect to higher or lower educational backgrounds. Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Setting: Five elementary schools in Uppsala, Sweden. Subjects: Parents of 176 6-year-old pupils attending the first grade. The total response rate was 89.7%. Results: Parents with a college degree reported that their 6-year-olds had a higher frequency of milk, fruit and vegetable intake, more physical activity and fewer hours watching television compared with parents with a secondary school degree. Congruent to these differences in reported practices, more parents with a college degree desired a higher frequency of milk, fruit and vegetable intake, more physical exercise and less television viewing for their children. Regarding parents' desired meal frequencies during the week, no differences between the groups with higher and lower levels of education were found. Despite similar attitudes, however, parents with a college degree reported that their children ate mostly all meals significantly more often during the week. Both parent groups stated lack of time as the most common obstacle in providing their children with desired lifestyle practices, although parents with a secondary school education added lack of money as a contributing factor. Conclusions: As attitudes are not always reflected in reported practices, it seems a fruitful approach to assess both, as well as obstacles perceived by parents, before planning interventions to enhance healthy lifestyle habits in children. KeywordsParents Lifestyle Practices Attitudes Educational backgroundThe rising incidence of childhood obesity and related disorders necessitates the development of effective primary prevention strategies. There is now enough epidemiological evidence to support the correlation between overweight in 4-5-year-olds and overweight and obesity in later childhood and in adult life 1 -5 . Therefore, primary prevention strategies should aim at pre-school children and their families. Because the home environment is crucial to children's health-related behaviour, knowledge about factors influencing parental practices is essential to make the implementation of primary preventive strategies for this age group possible. It seems rather consistent from the literature that parents' educational background and overall socio-economic status (SES) influence their lifestyle choices for their children in the expected direction 6 . Thus, a lower SES generally predicts a less healthy lifestyle in terms of nutrition, leisure and physical activities, resulting in increased risk for childhood obesity and later cardiovascular risk 7,8 . However, the pathway to these non-optimal parenting practices in low SES groups is not very clear. There is still the question of whether it is knowledge, attitudes or motiv...