Psychosocial correlates of eating behavior in children and adolescents: a review

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding the correlates of dietary intake is necessary in order to effectively promote healthy dietary behavior among children and adolescents. A literature review was conducted on the correlates of the following categories of dietary intake in children and adolescents: Fruit, Juice and Vegetable Consumption, Fat in Diet, Total Energy Intake, Sugar Snacking, Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Dietary Fiber, Other Healthy Dietary Consumption, and Other Less Healthy Dietary Consumption in children and adolescents.MethodsCross-sectional and prospective studies were identified from PubMed, PsycINFO and PsycArticles by using a combination of search terms. Quantitative research examining determinants of dietary intake among children and adolescents aged 3–18 years were included. The selection and review process yielded information on country, study design, population, instrument used for measuring intake, and quality of research study.ResultsSeventy-seven articles were included. Many potential correlates have been studied among children and adolescents. However, for many hypothesized correlates substantial evidence is lacking due to a dearth of research. The correlates best supported by the literature are: perceived modeling, dietary intentions, norms, liking and preferences. Perceived modeling and dietary intentions have the most consistent and positive associations with eating behavior. Norms, liking, and preferences were also consistently and positively related to eating behavior in children and adolescents. Availability, knowledge, outcome expectations, self-efficacy and social support did not show consistent relationships across dietary outcomes.ConclusionThis review examined the correlates of various dietary intake; Fruit, Juice and Vegetable Consumption, Fat in Diet, Total Energy Intake, Sugar Snacking, Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Dietary Fiber, Other Healthy Dietary Consumption, and Other Less Healthy Dietary Consumption in cross-sectional and prospective studies for children and adolescents. The correlates most consistently supported by evidence were perceived modeling, dietary intentions, norms, liking and preferences. More prospective studies on the psychosocial determinants of eating behavior using broader theoretical perspectives should be examined in future research.

Associations between socio-economic status and school-day dietary intake in a sample of grade 5–8 students in Vancouver, Canada

“…Student-reported measures of food security have previously demonstrated high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0·77) and statistically significant inverse associations with other measures of SES and relevant indicators of diet quality outside the school context (34) . Measures of peer modelling and parental norms were adapted from Pawlak and Malinauskas (21) and served as the psychosocial constructs examined because modelling and norms constructs are consistently associated with dietary quality in previous studies with youth (35) . Students reported their level of agreement with statements regarding what they believe their parents think they should eat (parental norms) and what they think their friends eat (peer modelling).…”

Ortodontik maloklüzyona sahip bireylerde diyet kalitesini etkileyen faktörlerin değerlendirilmesi

“…1 Bahsedilen bu faktör-lerin birbirleriyle olan etkileşiminin anlaşılması sağlık-lı beslenme alışkanlığının edinilmesine yönelik daha etkili stratejilerin izlenebilmesi için oldukça önemlidir. 2 Bugüne kadar diyet kalitesinin değerlendirilmesi için farklı indeksler geliştirilmiştir. Bu indekslere, Sağlıklı Yeme İndeksi (Healthy Eating Index-HEI), Diyet Çeşit-lilik Skoru (Diet Diversity Score), Besin Öğesi Ortalama Yeterlilik Oranı (Mean Adequacy Ratio of Nutrients) ve Diyet Enerji Yoğunluğu (Dietary Energy Density) örnek verilebilir.…”

Parenting Practices that can Prevent or Reduce Childhood Obesity

“…Conversely, research has also shown that a permissive style of parenting that allows for availability of unhealthy food products at home is linked to children eating more total fat, sugar, and 'junk food,' and consuming more soft drinks (Gable & Lutz, 2000;Haerens, et al, 2008;McClain, Chappuis, Nguyen-Rodriguez, Yaroch, & Spruijt-Metz, 2009). …”