Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children

Reale, Sophie; Marr, Colette; Cecil, Joanne E.; Hetherington, Marion M.; Caton, Samantha J.

doi:10.3390/nu11123009

Cited by 10 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Mothers may misjudge portion sizes for children, which could be influenced by perceptual error, particularly when faced with large portions ( Hetherington et al, 2018 ). The present study provides further evidence illustrating that nutrition education, especially appropriate aids, guidance and serving size adjusted for child age and stage is needed at the point of serving, which is necessary given the potential for parental perceptual error ( Almiron-Roig et al, 2013 ; Reale et al, 2019a , b ). Furthermore, this investigation noted that mothers were enthusiastic about learning portion control from their participation in the research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Mothers recognised large portions and realised that this might increase intake, but they may have underestimated the size of this difference, an observation that has been reported before ( Reale et al, 2019a , b ). When subdividing from large portions of food items, decisions were made by sight without using a portion aid in the observational studies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

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Designing for downsizing: Home-based barriers and facilitators to reduce portion sizes for children

et al. 2022

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Evidence confirms that parents know that they should limit non-core foods for their children since these tend to be high in energy density (HED), fat, salt and sugar. However, it is unclear how knowledge of portion size limits, such as the 100 kcal guide from Public Health England are applied in practice. To observe in real-time children’s home food environment related to portion control and to explore with parents their reported portion size strategies, a mixed methods study was designed. Families with children aged 1–5 years were recruited (n = 21) to a three-part study: (1) to complete questionnaires and interviews on household food intake and portion control; (2) to report daily food intake for 4 days (n = 13) for one parent and their child(ren); (3) to observe home-based food provisioning via videorecording during dinner, breakfast and snack time (n = 6). Although the problem of large portion sizes of HED foods was recognised by mothers, strategies to downsize portions were not necessarily applied at home, as revealed in home observations and diaries. A mismatch between what was observed at home, what was reported in food diaries and what was said in interviews became apparent for some families. Mothers reported the need for greater support and guidance to downsize HED foods since they relied on pre-packaging as a guide to intake. Education and engagement were identified as important parameters for downsizing by mothers. One strategy which could be explored and applied by manufacturers is packaging design to faciliate the 100 kcal guidance using physical and engaging ways to assist parents in downsizing HED foods for their children. To facilitate effective government communication, innovative packaging design can be used to convey clear guidance and to tailor portion size messages for children. Packaging design, alongside government recommendations, can support parents’ goals to achieve healthy eating and can reinforce guidance for portion norms through innovation involving learning, playful engagement, and interaction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Designing for downsizing: Home-based barriers and facilitators to reduce portion sizes for children

et al. 2022

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“…Different assessment tasks have been used to investigate the portion size norm, including self-selected portion size tasks based on provided serving size options (12)(13)(14), normality judgement tasks using computer-based images (15), and an estimation of the number of portions contained in a package or container (16). Previous literature has shown that a range of portion sizes could be considered normal within a population, and multiple cognitive, social, and contextual factors may in uence the decision-making process and accuracy of estimations (2,3,17,18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nutrients. 2019;11(12):2845. PAL: estimated using the physical activity factor; classi ed into ve categories as sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, very active and extra/vigorously active(25, 26).Cooking con dence: measured using a validated 5-point Likert scale (can cook a nutritious meal; can cook a meal in a short amount of time; can cook spending a lot of money; can follow a recipe); classi ed as high if participants scored >16 out of 20 (very/extremely con dent), otherwise as low (28).…”

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confidence: 99%

Development and validation of an online portion size norm assessment tool

Liu¹,

Wang²,

Guo³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Portion size norms (described as a typical perception of how much of a given food individuals choose to eat in one eating occasion) may have shifted towards larger sizes due to the high availability of large package and serving sizes. This is especially concerning for discretionary foods that are energy-dense and nutrient-poor. Currently, there is a lack of validated tools to assess portion size norms for common foods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate an online image-based tool to examine the portion size norms of discretionary foods among Australian consumers. Methods Using a within-person crossover design, an online survey with image-series of 15 discretionary foods and drinks was validated against corresponding real foods. Participants selected their normal portion size using both methods and could choose from a scale ranging from 0 (do not eat this food) to 9 (greater than the largest option displayed). Agreement between methods was examined using cross-classification and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results A sample of 114 Australian adults were recruited (mean age 24.8 years). Cross classification indicated over 90% of selections (ranging from 86-96%) were matched in the same or adjacent portion size option. ICC was 0.85 across all foods, and 12 of the 15 foods demonstrated a good to excellent level of agreement (ICC >0.75). Conclusion This novel food images survey showed good agreement when compared with corresponding real foods. This survey may be a valuable tool to examine portion size norms for common discretionary foods among Australian adults in future studies.

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“…[6] Previous research suggests parents of preschool children (de ned as one to ve years) are interested in following portion size recommendations but are not generally aware of any available. [7,8] Instead of following guidance, parents often report using instinct and experience to serve their children. [9] First-time parents of young children often seek information about feeding [10] and may be a particularly receptive audience to receiving and following portion size guidance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative exploration of food portion size practices and awareness of food portion size guidance in first-time parents of one- to two-year-olds living in the UK

Porter

Langford

Summerbell

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Food portion size guidance resources aimed at parents of young children in the UK are freely available from a number of credible sources. However, little is known about whether parents are aware of, and use, any of these resources to guide their food portioning practices. Objectives We aimed to explore the food portion size practices used by first-time parents living in the UK when feeding their one- to two-year-old child, and also their awareness of and views on six food portion size guidance resources. Methods Participants were recruited via parent Facebook groups and online parent forums. Online 1-1 semi-structured interviews were conducted, during which parents were shown images of six food portion sizeguidance resources to facilitate discussion. Data was analysed in NVivo 11 using a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach. Results Of the 27 participants, most were women (n=25), white (n=18), and educated to a first degree level or higher (n=24). First-time parents mostly relied on their own judgement and “instinct” to portion foods, based on their learned experience of how much their child ate on a day-to-day basis. This experience was used alongside physical indicators of food portion size, such as the size of children’s dishware and food packaging. Most participants were unaware of any of the six food portion size guidance resources we showed them; only four had read any of the resources. Parents suggested they had previously sought advice about weaning from a range of sources (e.g. online, friends, community groups) but would be unlikely to seek out specific food portion size guidance. Parents suggested recommendations on food portion size should acknowledge and highlight parents’ perception that “every child is different”. Conclusions Existing food portion size guidance resources for parents of young children in the UK are ineffective as they have poor reach and impact. We suggest parents should be involved in developing novel strategies to promote age-appropriate consumption and healthy weight gain in young children.

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Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children

Cited by 10 publications

References 38 publications

Designing for downsizing: Home-based barriers and facilitators to reduce portion sizes for children

Designing for downsizing: Home-based barriers and facilitators to reduce portion sizes for children

Development and validation of an online portion size norm assessment tool

A qualitative exploration of food portion size practices and awareness of food portion size guidance in first-time parents of one- to two-year-olds living in the UK

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