Combating Coercive Feeding: High 5 for Kids Observes Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Relation to

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Combating Coercive Feeding High 5 for Kids
Observes Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in
Relation to Common Parenting StrategiesHolly
Bante, B.A., Kimberly Hessler, M.S., R.D., Amanda
Harrod, M.P.H., Michael Elliott, Ph.D., Debra
Haire-Joshu, Ph.D.
Background Less than 1/3 of children eat 5
servings of fruits and vegetables per day. The
average adult consumes 3.6 servings of fruits and
vegetables per day. Impact of consuming one more
serving of fruits and vegetables daily Risk of
lung cancer would be reduced by
10. Purpose Decrease risk for cancer by
increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables
and increasing physical activity among parents
and their children Prevent diet-related cancers
in families living in the Southeast corner of
Missouri, often called the bootheel. Specific
Aim High 5 for Kids is a community based
program designed to intervene with parents to
promote their preschool childrens (age 3-5)
preference for and intake of fruits and
vegetables. Previous Research Continuation of
High 5, Low Fat (1997-2002) Obesity Prevention
Center Saint Louis University School of Public
Health Funded by National Cancer
Institute Purpose To decrease fat and increase
fruit and vegetable intake through goal
setting. Results Through nutrition education
aimed at empowering parents with appropriate
child feeding techniques, H5LF successfully
improved the dietary intake of African American
parents, as indicated by increased fruit and
vegetable intake, decreased fat consumption,
increased frequency of low fat eating behaviors,
and parental role modeling of dietary
behaviors. Demographics
What is Coercive Feeding? Strategies used in
which a child is made to eat. Why do parents use
Coercive Feeding strategies? Well-intentioned
parents use these strategies to get a child to
eat more of a certain type of food. What are
some common Coercive Feeding strategies? One
Bite Rule forcing a child to eat at least one
bite of everything on his plate. Clean Your
Plate Rule the child must eat everything on his
plate before leaving the table. Using Dessert as
a Reward parents often bribe their children to
eat or engage in other behaviors by
offering dessert as a reward. How do Coercive
Feeding strategies negatively impact
children? Strategies that parents often use to
increase consumption of foods may affect a
childs ability to listen to internal huger and
satiety cues, altering a childs ability to
self-regulate food intake which may lead to
childhood overweight.
Parent Educator-Visit Plan
Child Storybooks

• Project Materials The High 5 for Kids program
  includes 4 personal visits, facilitated by parent
  educators, reinforcing each of the 4 core themes.
• Curriculum Factors that influence childrens
  food intake and/or physical activity are
  presented in each personal visit
• Neophobia (see examples on right)
• Role-Modeling
• Food Availability/Accessibility
• TV Viewing

Parent Handouts and Recipes
Acknowledgements Parents as Teachers National
Cancer Institute