Increasing water intake in pre-school children with unhealthy drinking habits: A year-long controlled longitudinal field experiment assessing the impact of information, water affordance, and social regulation

Abstract

Sabine (2017) Increasing water intake in pre-school children with unhealthy drinking habits: a year-long controlled longitudinal field experiment assessing the impact of information, water affordance, and social regulation. Appetite, 116 . pp. 205-214. ISSN 0195-6663 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017 Reuse of this item is permitted through licensing under the Creative Commons: Changing Children's Water Intake 1 Franks, B., Lahlou, S., Bottin, J. H., Guelinckx, I., & Boesen-Mariani, S. (2017). Increasing water intake in pre-school children with unhealthy drinking habits: a year-long controlled longitudinal field experiment assessing the impact of information, water affordance, and social regulation. Appetite, (116), 205-214. Increasing water intake in pre-school children with unhealthy drinking habits: a year-long controlled longitudinal field experiment assessing the impact of information, water affordance, and social regulation or no further intervention (-SOCIAL). Intake of plain water and all other fluid types of the children were recorded by the carers 6 times over a year using an online 7-day fluid-specific dietary record.Results: Over 1 year, all groups significantly increased water consumption by 3.0 to 7.8 times (+118 to +222 mL). INFO+W+SOCIAL and INFO-SOCIAL generated the highest increase in plain water intake after one year compared to baseline, by 7.8 times (+216 mL) and 6.7 times (+222 mL) respectively; both significantly exceeded the CONTROL (3.0 times, +118 mL), whilst the effect of INFO+W-SOCIAL (5.0 times, +158 mL) and INFO+SOCIAL (5.3 times, +198 mL) did not differ from Changing Children's Water Intake 2 that of CONTROL. All groups saw a decrease of sweetened beverages intake, again with INFO+W+SOCIAL generating the largest decrease (-27%; -172 mL). No changes in other fluids or total fluid intake were observed.Conclusions: Sustainable increased water consumption can be achieved in children with unhealthy drinking habits by influencing representations, changing material affordances, and providing social regulation. Combining the three provided the strongest effect as predicted by Installation Theory.

A systematic review of strategies to increase drinking‐water access and consumption among 0‐ to 5‐year‐olds

“…After the removal of duplicates (n = 1221), 2109 titles and abstracts were screened (Figure ) of which 2030 were excluded. After the review of 79 remaining full‐text articles, 54 were excluded leaving 25 articles for inclusion in this study …”

“…Franks et al and Lahlou et al completed a series of studies with 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds and their caregivers in Poland . They examined the effect of multiple strategies to promote water intake among children not meeting minimum water intake recommendations.…”

“…First, only three studies (including two that are from a single study group) examined strategies to promote water access or intake in isolation from other nutrition or physical activity‐related strategies . Several studies show promise in increasing water intake or reducing SSB or fruit‐juice intake with no significant impacts on milk consumption . To help guide policies and practices in this area, studies could examine whether water promotion strategies alone, SSB reduction strategies alone, or both strategies in combination are superior in increasing water intake, reducing SSB consumption, and impacting health.…”

Development and relative validity of a self‐administered semi‐quantitative drinks frequency questionnaire, validated in a population of university students

“…In addition, excessive intakes of drinks (in particular soft and energy drinks) have been related to a number of other health ailments, such as dental erosions, behavioural, or bone problems, whereas inadequate hydration has been associated to reduced cognitive performance, memory and mood . Thus, monitoring drinks consumption is pivotal in achieving better hydration and correcting unhealthy drinking habits through education …”

“…10,11 Thus, monitoring drinks consumption is pivotal in achieving better hydration and correcting unhealthy drinking habits through education. 12 Assessment of a population's consumption patterns is often difficult, challenging and costly. Dietary surveys usually rely on either multiple 24-hour dietary recalls, or food diaries recorded for several days.…”