Parental socioeconomic status and soft drink consumption of the child. The mediating proportion of parenting practices

Self Cite

Objective: To study diet quality among pre-schoolers using the Diet Quality Index (DQI) and to investigate differences according to gender, socio-economic status (SES) and overweight/obesity status. Design: Kindergarten-based cross-sectional survey within the ToyBox-study. A standardized protocol was used and parents/caregivers self-reported sociodemographic data and a semi-quantitative FFQ. A total DQI and its four subcomponents (diversity, quality, equilibrium and meal index) were calculated based on this FFQ. High total DQI scores indicate better diet quality than low scores. Results of the total DQI and the subcomponents were reported as percentages of maximum scores (100 %). Setting: Kindergartens in six European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain). Subjects: European pre-schoolers (aged 3·5-5·5 years) and their parents/caregivers (n 7063). Results: The mean total DQI score was 68·3 %. Mean scores of the subcomponents were 61·7 % for diversity, 56·5 % for quality, 65·4 % for equilibrium and 89·7 % for the meal index. Pre-schoolers of lower-SES backgrounds had lower scores on the total DQI and all its subcomponents. No clear differences were found by gender and overweight status. Results differed slightly according to country. Conclusions: Pre-schoolers scored low on the total DQI and especially on dietary quality, as energy-dense, low-nutritious food items were more often consumed than highly nutritious food items. Furthermore, already in pre-schoolers lower-SES mothers were less likely to provide a good diet quality and this was consistent for all four subcomponents of the total DQI. Food intake in pre-schoolers should be enhanced, especially in pre-schoolers of lower-SES backgrounds.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet quality in European pre-schoolers: evaluation based on diet quality indices and association with gender, socio-economic status and overweight, the ToyBox-study

Pinket

Craemer

Huybrechts

et al. 2016

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“…This is consistent with earlier studies (25,26,51,52) . It is already known that low-SES children consume significantly more soft drinks (53) . This is important for interventions on the prevention of childhood overweight with a focus on soft drinks consumption: they should focus on the soft drinks consumption in a more complex combination of environmental and behavioural strategies and customize the intervention for high-risk groups, such as low-SES families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for childhood overweight: a 30-month longitudinal study of 3- to 6-year-old children

Coen

Bourdeaudhuij

Verbestel

et al. 2013

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Objective: The increasing prevalence of childhood overweight is an important health issue. There is a need for longitudinal research among children in order to identify risk factors for childhood overweight. The objective of the present research was to identify potential sociodemographic and behavioural risk factors for development of childhood overweight among 3-to 6-year-old children. Design: Longitudinal study. Setting: Sixteen pre-primary and primary schools. Subjects: BMI Z-scores at baseline and two follow-up measurements were calculated for 568 children. Sociodemographic, parental adiposity, familial composition, child's diet, physical activity and sedentary behavioural data were collected through questionnaires. Results: Several risk factors for the development of childhood overweight were found. Being an only child, lower maternal educational level, maternal and paternal overweight, more than 1 h screen time on weekdays and high soft drinks consumption were shown to be positively associated with the development of childhood overweight. Conclusions: Although behavioural factors are important, our findings support the thesis that interventions on the prevention of childhood overweight should focus on high-risk groups, i.e. children from low socio-economic background or with high parental BMI. Interventions should address the whole family and take into account their lifestyle and structure.

“…Other studies have amply documented higher intakes of EDSF among children of low socioeconomic status compared with children of high socioeconomic status (15,19) . Hence, interventions to promote healthy eating should prioritize children with lower educated parents, taking into consideration the mechanisms that make these children consume more EDSF and EDD, such as food parenting practices, parental consumption and food availability at home (20,42,43) . Children with mothers in employment had higher energy intakes from EDD than children with non-employed mothers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intake of energy-dense snack foods and drinks among Dutch children aged 7–12 years: how many, how much, when, where and which?

Gevers

Kremers

Vries

et al. 2015

Objective: To describe the energy-dense snack food (EDSF) and energy-dense drink (EDD) consumption of children in the Netherlands and investigate subgroup differences. The amounts consumed, eating occasions, places of consumption and consumed types are reported. Design: Twenty-four hour dietary recall data were used to describe the EDSF and EDD consumption. Subgroup differences concerning these intakes were identified with ANCOVA. Setting: Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2007-2010. Subjects: Children (n 860) aged 7-12 years. Results: The mean number of EDSF events was 3·3 (SD 1·6) per day, yielding 1569·7 (SD 928·7) kJ. Average EDD consumption was 594·2 (SD 342·3) ml/d, yielding 737·2 (SD 495·9) kJ. Over 90 % of the children consumed more energy from non-core foods per day than recommended. Differences in EDSF and EDD consumption were found between several subgroups. Most importantly, we found higher intakes among older children and children with low educated mothers. Almost half of the EDSF events took place in the afternoon and at home. Cookies and sweets were consumed during half of the EDSF events. Almost one-third of the EDD were consumed in the afternoon. The majority of these drinks were consumed at home and most were soft drinks.Conclusions: The results demonstrate that snack food and drink consumption is highly prevalent among Dutch children. Health promotion efforts addressing these behaviours are warranted and the present study could accelerate these initiatives. Focusing on children with low educated parents and on snacking at home after school offers the greatest potential to reduce snack food and drink intakes.