The relationship between parents’ dietary care and food diversity among preschool children in Japan

Abstract

Background Increasing food diversity in early childhood diets is important; however, few studies on parental care emphasize the necessity of ensuring greater food diversity for children. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between preschool children’s dietary diversity and parents’ care behaviors related to their diet including contents of foods and snacks, mealtime practice, and parent–child communication. Methods Data were extracted from the National Nutrition Survey on Preschool Children conducted among households with toddlers and preschoolers in 2015 by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Based on 2143 responses from households with children aged 2–6 years, a food diversity score (8 food groups: max of 8 points) was calculated and the distribution was confirmed. The participants were divided into higher (≥4 points, n = 1151) and lower (≤3 points; n = 992) food diversity groups. A comparison between the two groups examined parents’ socioeconomic status, children’s health and living conditions, and parental care concerning children’s diets (13 items, including nutritional balance of foods, snack content, and regularity of mealtimes). Based on the results, a multiple regression analysis was performed relating food diversity scores to the factors of parental socioeconomic status and child health, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors of parental care related to the higher food diversity group. Results Among the higher food diversity group, mothers were older, subjective economic status was higher, parents’ skipped breakfast skipping less, and children had fewer caries and engaged in less than two hours of screen time per day. Parental care concerning children’s diets was the factor most strongly associated with children’s food diversity scores. Among such habits, those factors most strongly associated with higher food diversity were nutritional balance of foods (OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.44–2.16; p < .0001), snack contents (OR: 1.41; CI: 1.07–1.86; p = 0.014), and regular mealtimes (OR: 1.30; CI: 1.08–1.55; p = 0.005). Conclusion The findings indicate the importance of parents paying attention to the contents of children’s foods and snacks, ensuring that children eat regularly, and increasing the diversity of their diets.

A cross-sectional exploratory study of food literacy among Saudi parents of adolescent children aged 10 to 19 years

“…(28). Parents need to be aware of the worth of parent-child cooking activities, which have been proven to lessen dietary concerns in children, such as picky eating and playing with food and utensils during meals (29). Moreover, children who participated in culinary activities had more varied diets, including more fish, soy products, vegetables, and milk, according to a study based on data from Japan's national nutrition survey on preschool children, a survey of families across the country with toddlers and preschoolers.…”

“…Moreover, children who participated in culinary activities had more varied diets, including more fish, soy products, vegetables, and milk, according to a study based on data from Japan's national nutrition survey on preschool children, a survey of families across the country with toddlers and preschoolers. (29). The importance of parents gaining self-confidence in the kitchen when cooking was highlighted in another cross-sectional study a Some parents did not report their body weight and this is why some data were missing [underweight parents n = 87 (66 were food literate and n = 21 had poor food literacy); normalweight parents n = 638 (334 were food literate and n = 304 had poor food literacy); overweight parents n = 537 (284 were food literate and n = 253 had poor food literacy); and obese parents n = 515 (172 were food literate and 343 had poor food literacy)].…”