What influences mothers food choices for young children

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What influences mothers food choices for young
children?

• I Crombie, L Irvine, K Brown, W Wrieden,
• V Swanson, K Power, P Slane

CHIEF SCIENTIST OFFICE
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Issues to explore

• nutritional knowledge
• beliefs about benefits of good diet
• food preparation and serving
• mothers intentions
• barriers

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Design

• mothers
• with 2 year old children
• in disadvantaged areas
• in Dundee and Fife
• interviewer questionnaire
• literature review
• theory of planned behaviour
• focus groups

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Recruitment

• 372 invited
• 49 refused
• 18 not contacted
• 5 excluded
• 300 successful interviews (81)

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Demographics
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Early feeding

• Never breastfed 78
• Solid food tried by 4 weeks 36
• Weaning initiated by 8 weeks 55

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Childrens current diet

• Breakfast cereal most days 95
• Fish at least once/week lt1
• At least 1 portion per day of
• Milk 96
• Other Dairy 92
• Vegetables 47
• Fruit 38
• Potatoes/pasta/rice/bread 49
• Non processed meat/poultry 7
• Processed meat/poultry 31

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Purchasing of food
Most shopping at supermarket 100 Fruit
vegetables of acceptable quality 77 Routinely
buys same food each week 100 Healthy foods cost
too much 91
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Food preparation and serving

• Cooks from raw 3 times/week 53
• Seldom plans meals 54
• Household seldom eat together 32
• Child eat fried foods 3 times/week 39
• Child has takeaway 1 time/week 82

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Cooking specific meals
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Mothers knowledge of general dietary
recommendations
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Mothers perception of benefits
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Diet Quality Score
Balance of Good Health The plate model
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Planning and serving foods
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General barriers to a healthy diet
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Factors not associated with diet quality

• perceived cost
• food availability
• cooking equipment
• benefits of a healthy diet
• general food knowledge
• television viewing
• playing outdoors

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Knowledge of specific dietary recommendations
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Views on providing certain foods
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Summary

• representative sample
• general knowledge on diet is good
• benefits of healthy diet well known
• access to healthy food is not a problem

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Predictors of diet quality

• knowledge of specific recommendations
• planning and serving meals
• concerns about how much child eats
• perceived control over childs diet

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The challenge of behaviour change

• encourage planning of
• specific healthy meals
• regular meal times
• family to eat together
• increase control of the childs diet
• limit unhealthy foods
• expand the range of foods eaten
• emphasise the benefits
• child (healthy weight)
• family (cohesion)

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