Parental child-feeding strategies in relation to Dutch children’s fruit and vegetable intake

Abstract

Objective: To identify parental child-feeding strategies that may increase children's fruit or vegetable intake, since the relationship between these strategies and children's intake has never been investigated for fruit and vegetables as two separate food groups. Design: A survey study, where parents provided information about their practices in relation to feeding their children and about their own and their children's fruit and vegetable intake. Children completed a preference questionnaire about fruit and vegetables. To find underlying parental child-feeding strategies, factor analysis was applied to parents' practices in relation to fruit and vegetables separately. Regression analysis was used to predict the effect of these strategies on children's fruit and vegetable intake. The impact of the strategies was further analysed by estimating children's intake based on the frequency of use of specific strategies. Setting: The study was conducted at three primary schools in The Netherlands. Subjects: A total of 259 children between 4 and 12 years old and their parents (n 242). Results: Parents used different strategies for fruit as compared with vegetables. The vegetable-eating context was more negative than the fruit-eating context. Parental intake and presenting the children with choice were positive predictors of children's intake of both fruit and vegetables. The intake difference based on frequency of use of the strategy 'Choice' was 40 g/d for vegetables and 72 g/d for fruit (P , 0?001). Conclusions: Future interventions should focus on presenting children with choice during fruit-and vegetable-eating situations, since this is a powerful strategy to stimulate children's fruit and vegetable intake.

Offering “Dip” Promotes Intake of a Moderately-Liked Raw Vegetable among Preschoolers with Genetic Sensitivity to Bitterness

“…Interestingly, bitter-insensitive children who were given the regular dressing as a sauce ate less raw broccoli than those provided the same dressing as a dip, suggesting that eating broccoli with dip was relatively more preferred than with the sauce. From a developmental perspective, affording greater choices to children around eating fruits and vegetables has been suggested to encourage intake (24) and is consistent with the promotion of self-motivated behavior (47). Additional research is needed to evaluate how choices afforded to children during eating influence food preferences and intake patterns.…”

“…Effects were evaluated using both regular and light versions of a commercially available dressing. The dressing was also provided to some children as a sauce, to control for the extent to which the effects were explained by affording children greater choice over eating via the act of dipping (23,24). Offering children the dressing as a dip was hypothesized to have more favorable effects on intake than when provided in the same amount as a sauce.…”

Discordance in risk perception between children, parents, and teachers in terms of consumption of cheap and poorly nutritious food sold around schools

“…In addition, new educational strategies aimed at children need to be developed to induce them to make healthier choices rather than buying 'junk' food, and to make them more aware of the potential hazards associated with these foods. Such strategies should involve the dissemination of information via child-friendly media (e.g., television advertisements, interesting games, and education programs) to help them distinguish good food from cheap and poorly nutritious food (Baranowski, Thompson, Buday, Lu, & Baranowski, 2010;Harris, Bargh, & Brownell, 2009;Zeinstra, Koelen, Kok, Van Der Laan, & De Graaf, 2010).…”

Familiarity and liking of vegetables: Is it important for vegetable consumption?

“…• Low levels of parental education (Bjelland et al, 2013) • Low socio-economic status (Bjelland et (Zeinstra et al, 2009). …”