RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Baby-led weaning (BLW), a popular complementary feeding style, prioritizes exploration of foods, independence of children in eating, and eating with family. Though BLW has received popular attention, empirical evidence is limited. This study measured parents' reports of BLW, parenting style, and feeding practices; analyzed BLW's relation to children's dietary intake; examined how demographic variables such as age, parent sex, education, and marital status related to the prevalence of using BLW. METHODS: This cross sectional study recruited 313 parents with children ages 6-30 months via Cloud Research, an online survey platform where individuals complete surveys for compensation. Hierarchical regressions examined how feeding style, dietary intake, and parenting style related to independence, exploration, and family subscales of BLW after controlling for relevant demographics. FINDINGS: The majority (69.3%) of participants identified as female, white (76.6%), middle-class (52.4%), married (69%), and a third had a bachelor's degree (37.4%). Restrictive feeding practices, Ellyn Satter's division of responsibility, and the parents' sex were significant predictors of all subscales of BLW. DISCUSSION: Parents who use BLW allowed for an autonomous food experience and were less likely to restrict or control the child's eating. BLW appears to be related to, but distinct from, well-researched parent feeding practices such as restriction and division of responsibility. APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: These findings might be useful in education and interventions for healthcare professionals. Future research on BLW should examine how child behavior and nutrition outcomes compare to other feeding practices.

Asunto(s)

Fenómenos Fisiológicos Nutricionales del Lactante , Responsabilidad Parental , Lactante , Niño , Humanos , Femenino , Destete , Estudios Transversales , Conducta Alimentaria , Encuestas y Cuestionarios

RESUMEN

Objective: Picky eating, which occurs in emerging adulthood and is associated with psychological distress and quality of life, has historically been conceptualized as unidimensional despite research suggesting it is a multifaceted construct. Participants: An undergraduate sample (N = 509; Mage = 19.96). Methods: A cross-sectional survey assessed picky eating facets (food variety, meal disengagement, meal presentation, and taste aversion), disordered eating, anxiety, depression, stress, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and social phobia symptoms, and quality of life. Results: Meal disengagement was uniquely related to higher anxiety, depression, stress, and social phobia symptoms and lower quality of life, whereas meal presentation was uniquely related to higher anxiety, stress, and OCD symptoms, beyond covariates and disordered eating. Food variety and taste aversion were not uniquely related to outcomes. Conclusions: Considering picky eating multidimensionally may yield important insights beyond the broader construct in terms of its relationship with psychological well-being in undergraduates.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: This article reports the development and validation of a measure of parents' use of baby-led weaning (BLW). BLW is a child-centred approach to complementary feeding where the infant is allowed to eat whole foods (rather than purees) and explore a variety of foods and textures. To date, parents' use of BLW has been assessed using either single items or a wide variety of measures. METHOD: In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on independent samples supported three BLW subscales: independence, exploration, and family. RESULTS: The final 13-item scale showed adequate fit statistics and good reliability (χ2 (62) = 115.02, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.05; SRMR = 0.06; exploration a = 0.738; family a = 0.715; independence a = 0.809). In addition, the scale demonstrated good external validity and related in theoretically expected ways to an infant feeding-style measure and parent report of complementary feeding approach. This study was limited as it was mostly white parents, and the scale should be validated on a more diverse sample. CONCLUSIONS: Future research can use this scale to examine if BLW relates to infant taste preferences, parenting styles, and child eating behaviours to improve child nutrition and health outcomes.

Asunto(s)

Alimentos Infantiles , Fenómenos Fisiológicos Nutricionales del Lactante , Lactante , Humanos , Destete , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Alimentos Infantiles/análisis , Conducta Alimentaria

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in substantial disruptions to daily functioning and lifestyle behaviours, with negative health consequences for youth. Parents play a large role in their children's health behaviour; yet changes to parenting behaviours during the pandemic related to food and physical activity remain relatively unexplored. The present study is the first to our knowledge to examine specific changes in American parents' parenting behaviours related to food and physical activity during COVID-19, and potential correlates of such changes, including perceived stress and decision fatigue. METHODS: A total of 140 parents (88.57% female; 88.41% White; 87.59% married; with one to five children) from middle to upper income households completed an online survey assessing demographics, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), decision fatigue (Decision Fatigue Scale) and food and activity parenting behaviour changes during COVID-19. RESULTS: Overall, a greater proportion of parents engaged primarily in positive (57.14%) than negative (22.86%) parenting practices related to food and physical activity during the pandemic. Moderation analyses showed that the negative relation between perceived stress and positive parental behaviour changes was stronger at higher perceived increases in decision fatigue during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: In the face of a major public health crisis, adaptive parental responses may emerge, but perceived stress may inhibit such behaviour change. Perceived stress and decision fatigue may represent important explanatory factors in parental health promoting behaviours during times of uncertainty and change.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19 , Adolescente , COVID-19/epidemiología , Niño , Ejercicio Físico , Fatiga/etiología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Pandemias , Responsabilidad Parental , Padres

RESUMEN

Feeding a child in the 21st century can be challenging. A child's diet is thought to be a parent's responsibility, and numerous studies have explored how parents influence their child's food intake through food availability, feeding practices, and modeling. However, this relationship is likely bidirectional such that the child influences the parent as well (sometimes called "pester power"). Pester power has been studied in grocery stores and restaurants. However, no research to date investigates how children influence parent's food selection when eating at home. This study addresses this gap by asking parent and child dyads (N = 79, 95% white) to create meals together and separately. Forty 6-8 and thirty-nine 13-15 year-olds participated. Most of the parents (97.5%) and children (49.4%) who participated were female; and parents reported an average annual income of over 80,000 dollars (68.3%). Mean differences in the nutrient content of the meals were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVAs to examine the strength of influence in the bidirectional relationship. Results suggested when children were present for meal selection, they exerted influence over their parents for more palatable items. When choosing foods as a dyad versus when the parent selected meals for the family, the foods contained more calories, sugar, and less fiber. Protein was the only nutrient that parents influenced in their child's selections. These findings have important implications for understanding the often-overlooked bidirectional dynamic of the feeding relationship, and the accompanying health outcomes of child dietary intake.

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between young adult picky eating (PE) and psychosocial outcomes (eg, social phobia, quality of life) and dietary intake. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study including demographic, quantitative, and qualitative measures. PARTICIPANTS: Midwestern undergraduate convenience sample (n = 488) recruited early 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Picky eating identity and bias internalization, social phobia, quality of life, and dietary intake. ANALYSES: Pearson correlations were conducted among study variables. Independent t tests compared picky eaters and nonpicky eaters on key variables. Qualitative data were coded using content analysis. RESULTS: Picky eaters reported eating less fiber (t[445] = -3.51; P < 0.001; d = 0.34) and vegetables (t[464] = -3.57; P < 0.001; d = 0.33), and reported more social phobia (t[336.84] = 4.04; P < 0.001; d = 0.39) than nonpicky eaters. Picky eating behaviors were positively correlated with PE identity (r[190] = 0.48; P < 0.001; R2 = 0.23) and bias internalization (r[190] = 0.44; P < 0.001; R2 = 0.19). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Future research might explore additional factors that theoretically overlap with PE behavior (eg, other eating styles, disordered eating patterns) or play a role in PE (eg, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive difficulties). A greater understanding of these factors may lead to intervention to reduce PE in adults. In addition, validation of the PE identity and PE distress measures is essential for future use and to replicate this study's findings.

Asunto(s)

Irritabilidad Alimentaria , Estudios Transversales , Ingestión de Alimentos , Conducta Alimentaria , Preferencias Alimentarias , Humanos , Calidad de Vida , Estudiantes , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has dramatically altered daily activities including eating and physical activity behaviors, which in turn may be related to eating pathology. Those who care for children (henceforth caregivers) may face the brunt of these changes, but little research has examined the consequences of COVID-19 on eating pathology in caregivers. A community sample of caregivers (N = 140) completed a cross-sectional online survey assessing demographics, stress and concern about weight gain before/during COVID-19, disordered eating (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire-Short Form), and emotional eating (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised). Significant positive relationships emerged between stress and concern about weight gain before/during COVID-19 and disordered eating, emotional eating-depression, emotional eating-anger/anxiety, and emotional eating-boredom. Stress and concern about weight gain during, but not before, COVID-19 positively predicted variance in disordered eating and emotional eating. Stress was associated with lower emotional eating-boredom when concern about weight gain during COVID-19 was low. Stress was associated with lower emotional eating-depression when concern about weight gain before COVID-19 was low, but when high, stress was associated with higher emotional eating-depression. Stress and concern about weight gain before/during COVID-19 may be relevant to worsened disordered eating and emotional eating in caregivers, a neglected population in the literature. Targeting concern about weight gain may weaken the relationship between stress and emotional eating-depression and emotional eating-boredom among caregivers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19 , Cuarentena , Cuidadores , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Conducta Alimentaria , Humanos , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2 , Aumento de Peso

RESUMEN

The extant literature on picky eating focuses on children, leaving adults understudied. A sparse and mixed evidence base suggests relationships exist between picky eating and disordered eating in adults. The present study furthered this research by examining shared negative psychological correlates as moderators that may strengthen relationships between picky eating and disordered eating in undergraduate students. Participants (N = 509; 76.3% female) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing picky eating (Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire), disordered eating (Binge Eating Scale and Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire), and negative psychological correlates including anxiety, depression, and stress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items), inflexible eating (Inflexible Eating Questionnaire), obsessive compulsive disorder (Short Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Screener), and social eating anxiety (adapted Social Phobia Scale) symptoms. Positive relationships were observed between picky eating and binge eating, dietary restraint, eating concerns, overall eating pathology, and all negative psychological correlates. Moderation analyses examined if negative psychological correlates strengthened relationships between picky eating and disordered eating. Higher inflexible eating and anxiety and stress symptoms interacted with higher picky eating in relation to disordered eating, specifically eating concerns. Interactions between picky eating and negative psychological correlates did not explain variance in binge eating, dietary restraint, and overall eating pathology. Findings complement research demonstrating overlap between picky eating and disordered eating and highlight specific negative psychological correlates that may strengthen relationships between picky eating and disordered eating. Researchers and clinicians interested in concurrent picky eating and disordered eating should consider these negative psychological correlates given their potential to worsen disordered eating.

Asunto(s)

Trastornos de Alimentación y de la Ingestión de Alimentos , Irritabilidad Alimentaria , Adulto , Ansiedad , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Trastornos de Alimentación y de la Ingestión de Alimentos/epidemiología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Estudiantes , Encuestas y Cuestionarios

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that schools play an important role in student health; however, little is known about variability in teachers' use of food-related classroom practices. In this study, we examined associations between teacher demographic and individual factors and their food-related practices and modeling in the classroom. METHODS: We had 239 teachers in the United States complete an online survey about their demographics (years of teaching experience, socioeconomic status of the school), personal health status, height and weight, and nutrition knowledge. Teachers also reported on the unhealthy food-related practices they use in their classroom (eg, candy as a reward) and modeling (ie, engaging in unhealthy and healthy eating practices in front of students). RESULTS: Hierarchical linear regressions were computed for each outcome separately. After controlling for socioeconomic status, fewer years of teaching experience and lower perception of personal health were associated with the use of unhealthy practices in the classroom. Teachers who were dieting were more likely to endorse healthy modeling. CONCLUSIONS: Teacher demographic and individual factors are associated with food-related classroom behavior. These findings have implications for interventions to promote the health of teachers and their students.

RESUMEN

Research has demonstrated that mothers transmit body-related attitudes and eating behaviors to their daughters, but little is known about the role of self-compassion-treating oneself with kindness and being mindful about one's experiences-in this transmission. This research examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal associations between mothers' and daughters' self-compassion, body esteem (i.e., positive self-evaluations about one's appearance), and emotional eating (i.e., the tendency to eat in response to negative affect). Dyads (N = 191) of Canadian mothers (mean age: 57.37) and daughters (mean age: 28.76) completed self-report questionnaires. Dyadic, structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses were conducted to examine relationships among the study variables. Controlling for mothers' and daughters' body mass index, self-compassionate mothers and daughters reported higher body esteem. Additionally, daughters of self-compassionate mothers were more self-compassionate and had higher body esteem, which in turn predicted lower emotional eating. Adding to the literature on the intergenerational transmission of eating-related attitudes and behaviors, results suggest a relation between mother and daughter self-compassion, body esteem, and eating behaviors. Results also showed that attitudes toward oneself were related to eating behaviors. Mothers' self-compassion might provide a model for daughters, which in turn is associated with daughters' improved body esteem and eating behaviors.

Asunto(s)

Hijos Adultos/psicología , Emociones , Empatía , Conducta Alimentaria/psicología , Relaciones Madre-Hijo/psicología , Madres/psicología , Autoimagen , Adulto , Imagen Corporal/psicología , Canadá , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Núcleo Familiar/psicología

RESUMEN

Eating healthfully is a challenge in the US; most American children do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and exceed daily recommendations for salts, fats, and sugars. The pervasiveness of packaged foods, which are often reduced in nutritional value through added salt, fat, or sugar, adds to the challenge of eating healthfully. There is still much to learn about how aspects of packaging impact children. This study examined how different types of packaging (i.e., healthy, fun, plain, unpackaged) of fruits and vegetables influence children's health and taste evaluations. Thirty children (Mage = 7.1 years, SD = 1.0) participated in a food rating task where they rated the health, taste, and their willingness to try 64 packaged fruits and vegetables (on a scale from 1 to 5). Children were influenced by aspects of the packaging; they rated healthy and fun packaging more favorably in most cases suggesting that children respond more positively to visually appealing packaging than to plain packaging. These results are consistent with previous findings and have implications for how to promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption among children. Future research should explore if the same trends exist when packaged fruits and vegetables are compared to other packaged snack foods.

Asunto(s)

Comunicación , Dieta , Embalaje de Alimentos/métodos , Preferencias Alimentarias , Frutas , Promoción de la Salud/métodos , Verduras , Niño , Salud Infantil , Conducta Alimentaria , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Valor Nutritivo , Placer , Instituciones Académicas , Bocadillos , Gusto

RESUMEN

Significant research has linked parents' feeding practices to children's eating habits. However, much less is known about how childhood feeding relates to longer-term outcomes such as eating in adulthood. The current study uses retrospective reports from mother-daughter dyads (N = 217) to compare childhood feeding practices and to examine how recalled feeding is related to current eating (emotional eating, intuitive eating, unrestrained eating) and body mass index (BMI) in adult daughters. Mothers and daughters completed the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ), subscales from the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, and the Intuitive Eating Scale. Results of an exploratory factor analysis indicated that mothers and daughters largely had similar factor structures on retrospective reports, with factor loadings varying on four of twelve original CFPQ subscales: monitoring, restriction for health, child control, and modelling. Paired samples t-tests examined mean differences between mother and daughter reports on each subscale; there was no significant difference between mother and daughter reports on six of the 11 scales. Daughters reported significantly higher levels of pressure to eat; mothers reported significantly higher levels of healthy practices, child control, involvement, and unhealthy environment than their daughters recalled. Hierarchical regressions revealed that daughters' reports of specific childhood feeding practices accounted for significant change in unadjusted variance for uncontrolled eating (18.8%), emotional eating (13.1%), intuitive eating (14.7%), and BMI (16.1%). Similarly, regressions revealed that mothers' reports of childhood feeding practices accounted for significant change in unadjusted variance for emotional eating (11.5%) and BMI (11.2%), but not uncontrolled or intuitive eating. Collectively, results lend strong support to the use of retrospective reports on childhood feeding and provide evidence that recalled childhood feeding practices have lasting relations with adult eating behaviors.

Asunto(s)

Hijos Adultos/psicología , Dieta Saludable/psicología , Conducta Alimentaria/psicología , Madres/psicología , Núcleo Familiar/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Índice de Masa Corporal , Encuestas sobre Dietas , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Relaciones Madre-Hijo/psicología , Análisis de Regresión , Estudios Retrospectivos , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

Certain child eating behaviors (e.g., food fussiness, emotional overeating, and disruptive mealtime behaviors) can create challenges for caregivers and result in short- and long-term health consequences (e.g., lower fruit and vegetable intake, a deficiency of essential nutrients, greater intake of energy-dense foods and sugary beverages, and/or higher BMI) for the children. The role of mindful feeding-cultivating a present-centered awareness in the feeding context to increase parents' awareness of their own responsive (and non-responsive) feeding behaviors-has not been explored as it relates to parenting and children's problematic eating behaviors. The objective of this study was to understand whether the relations between parenting style and child eating behaviors often documented in the literature are mediated by mindful feeding. Using self-reports from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) of 496 mothers and fathers of young children (age 2-7 years old), we explored whether mindful feeding mediates the relation between parenting style and child eating behaviors. As hypothesized, authoritative parenting was related to higher rates of mindful feeding (ß=.16, 95% C.I. [.05, .18]), while authoritarian (ß=-.34, 95% C.I. [-.32, -.17]) and permissive parenting (ß= -.15, 95% C.I. [-.18, -.05]) were related to lower rates of mindful feeding. Mindful feeding mediated the relation between each parenting style and each child eating behavior (i.e., food fussiness, problematic mealtime behaviors, and emotional overeating). These findings suggest that that mindful feeding may be a promising new construct, and its relation to feeding interventions aimed at improving problematic child eating behaviors should be further evaluated.

Asunto(s)

Conducta Infantil/psicología , Conducta Alimentaria/psicología , Atención Plena/métodos , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Adulto , Anciano , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

Objective: Despite widespread use of emotional eating self-report measures, the validity of these measures has been questioned. Most of this research has focused on the validity of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) as opposed to the Emotional Eating Scale (EES). The current paper describes two experimental studies that examined associations between self-reported emotional eating and emotional eating measured in the laboratory. To address previous design limitations, the current studies used highly palatable foods, effective mood induction methods, and the EES, in addition to the DEBQ. Design: In two samples of college students, participants were randomised to a neutral or negative mood induction. Main Outcome Measures: The traditional DEBQ and the original and revised versions of the EES were used to measure self-reported emotional eating. Emotional eating was assessed in the laboratory using a bogus taste test. Subjects were asked to taste various foods, and food intake was measured. Results: In both samples, self-reported emotional eating using the DEBQ and EES was unrelated to laboratory measured emotional eating (i.e. food consumed during the bogus taste test). Conclusion: Future research in this area would benefit from using diverse samples and development of novel methods of assessing emotional eating.

Asunto(s)

Afecto , Ingestión de Alimentos/psicología , Emociones , Ingestión de Energía , Femenino , Humanos , Laboratorios , Masculino , Medio Oeste de Estados Unidos , Autoinforme , Estudiantes/psicología , Estudiantes/estadística & datos numéricos , Universidades , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: In recent years, researchers have been working towards creating a standard conceptual framework of food parenting. To understand how parents' reports correspond with the proposed model, the current study examined parents' reports of their feeding behaviours in the context of a newly established framework of food parenting. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, with a two-week follow-up for a subset of the sample. Participants completed a quantitative and qualitative survey to assess food parenting. The survey included items from common food parenting instruments to measure the constructs posited in the framework. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to ascertain which items related most closely to one another and factors were mapped on to existing constructs. SETTING: Online. PARTICIPANTS: Parents of children aged 2·5-7 years (n 496). Of these, 122 completed a two-week follow-up. RESULTS: Analyses revealed eleven aspects of Structure (monitoring; distraction; family presence; meal/snack schedule; unstructured practices; healthy/unhealthy food availability; food preparation; healthy/unhealthy modelling; rules), ten aspects of Coercive Control (pressure to eat; using food to control emotions; food incentives to eat; food incentives to behave; non-food incentives to eat; restriction for health/weight; covert restriction; clean plate; harsh coercion) and seven aspects of Autonomy Promotion (praise; encouragement; nutrition education; child involvement; negotiation; responsive feeding; repeated offering). Content validity, assessed via parents' open-ended explanations of their responses, was high, and test-retest reliability was moderate to high. Structure and Autonomy Promoting food parenting were highly positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: In general, parents' responses provided support for the model, but suggested some amendments and refinements.

RESUMEN

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, namely poor diet and inadequate physical activity, significantly contribute to poor health and obesity risk, which in turn impact chronic illness outcomes. A possible approach to improving these health behaviors and subsequent outcomes is to capitalize on the theorized link between social movement involvement and overlapping health behaviors. Social movement involvement may be a viable stealth intervention for health, utilizing intrinsic motivators to improve health without an explicit focus on changing health behavior. Thus, the current study explored the links between social movement involvement and diet and physical activity. Two samples from a college population (N = 196) and the general population (N = 195) participated in an online survey, which included measures of social movement involvement, social movement-related health behaviors and dietary intake and physical activity. After controlling for known covariates, social movement-related health behaviors mediated the relationship between level of social movement involvement and fruit and vegetable consumption, whole grain intake and average daily physical activity in both samples. These findings suggest that health behaviors associated with social movement involvement may be an important mechanism in promoting health among social movement members and that the model holds across adult populations. This research adds to existing literature on stealth interventions as a viable means of improving important behavioral health components linked with obesity and chronic disease and supports social movement involvement as a potential form of stealth intervention.

Asunto(s)

Dieta Saludable , Ejercicio Físico , Conductas Relacionadas con la Salud , Justicia Social , Adulto , Femenino , Promoción de la Salud , Humanos , Internet , Estilo de Vida , Masculino , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

This study explored differences in mothers' and fathers' food parenting strategies, specifically coercive control, structure, and autonomy promotion, and whether parenting style and parental responsibility for food parenting related to the use of these strategies. Parents of children aged 2.5-7.5 years (N = 497) reported about their parenting practices and food parenting strategies. Parenting style accounted for the majority of the variance in food parenting. Fathers were more authoritarian than mothers. Authoritarian and permissive parenting practices were related to more coercive strategies. Mothers reported more food parenting responsibility. Responsibility was related to less coercive practices and more autonomy promotion and structure.

Asunto(s)

Coerción , Padre/psicología , Conducta Alimentaria/psicología , Madres/psicología , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Autonomía Personal , Adulto , Anciano , Niño , Preescolar , Padre/estadística & datos numéricos , Femenino , Alimentos , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Madres/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto Joven

RESUMEN

Little research has considered how parents' socioeconomic indicators, body mass index (BMI), and dieting status relate to their food parenting. The current study used self-report data from parents of young children to examine group differences on three types of food parenting practices (Structure, Coercive Control, and Autonomy Promotion). Few group differences were found for socioeconomic indicators. However, parent dieting status moderated effects of parent BMI on structure and autonomy promotion. Obese, non-dieting parents reported lower scores on both variables. More research is needed to better understand how parents' dieting status moderates the effects of parent's weight.

Asunto(s)

Fenómenos Fisiológicos Nutricionales Infantiles , Dieta Saludable , Métodos de Alimentación , Estado Nutricional , Responsabilidad Parental , Índice de Masa Corporal , Niño , Preescolar , Coerción , Estudios Transversales , Dieta Saludable/psicología , Dieta Reductora/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Internet , Masculino , Encuestas Nutricionales , Obesidad/dietoterapia , Obesidad/prevención & control , Obesidad/psicología , Sobrepeso/dietoterapia , Sobrepeso/prevención & control , Sobrepeso/psicología , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Autonomía Personal , Factores Socioeconómicos , Estados Unidos , Aumento de Peso

RESUMEN

Childhood obesity is a serious issue in the U.S. While obesity is the result of a multitude of factors, a great deal of research has focused on children's dietary intake. While children's eating patterns vary throughout the week, not much else is known about weekday-weekend differences. Therefore, the current study examined differences in the frequency and portion size of school-age children's consumption of common foods and beverages, as well as mothers' perceptions of those items and their child feeding goals, on weekdays and weekends. A total of 192 mothers of children aged 7 to 11 were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Results showed a consistent pattern of more frequent consumption and larger portions of unhealthy foods and beverages on weekends. This aligned with mothers' perceptions of those foods and beverages as weekend items, as well as their feeding goals of health and price being less important on weekends. It is quite possible that weekends are viewed as having less structure and facilitate schedules that allow children to consume more meals away from home. These findings shed light on additional risk factors in children's eating patterns and highlight the serious implications that day of the week can have on childhood obesity.

Asunto(s)

Bebidas/estadística & datos numéricos , Conducta Alimentaria , Alimentos/estadística & datos numéricos , Comidas/psicología , Madres/psicología , Adulto , Niño , Dieta , Femenino , Objetivos , Humanos , Masculino , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , Obesidad Infantil/etiología , Percepción