Recipient Organization
UNIV OF IDAHO
875 PERIMETER DRIVE
MOSCOW,ID 83844-9803
Performing Department
School of Family and Consumer Science
Non Technical Summary
The feeding practices adults use with children last a lifetime and include: shaping children's food preferences and food acceptance patterns, setting the food environment, and influencing children's current weight status (Birch & Davison, 2001; Birch & Fisher, 1998; Fletcher et al., 1997). Using appropriate feeding practices with young children reinforce a child's self-regulation of intake (Johnson, 2000), which is supportive of maintaining a healthy weight and preventing childhood obesity (Birch & Fisher, 1998). The prevalence of obesity is 13.9% in children ages two to five years based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Health United States, 2006), which has prompted the implementation of nutrition intervention programs emphasizing ways to support a healthy weight in children (Needham, Dwyer, Randall-Simpson, & Heeney, 2007).The presence of an obesigenic environment, where high calorie and low nutrition dense foods are readily available make feeding young children a greater challenge (Bouchard, 2007; Briley, Roberts-Gray, & Simpson, 1994). The food environment is plagued with food that is less nutritious, and as a result children's exposure to highly nutritious foods is less frequent than their exposure to foods with a lower nutritional value. To complicate the food environment further, portion distortion is common, with children being offered larger portions and being expected to eat those portions. The importance of understanding feeding practices is further demonstrated in management of specific health conditions such as allergies, diabetes, and food intolerances (Briley & Roberts-Gray, 1999).Knowing the impact of adult feeding practices on young children's health, a greater understanding of factors influencing those feeding practices is warranted. In addition, gaining a greater understanding the impact of children's liking and taste preferences on food intake is needed. Knowledge gained on the factors influencing adult feeding practices and children's food preferences can guide education to better support and encourage adults' use of appropriate feeding practices, which can result in better health outcomes for young children. For example, one method of providing information about appropriate use of feeding practices is through educational video vignettes about feeding young children in group settings (Branen & Fletcher, 2011). Videos are an effective way to disseminate nutrition information, and this approach appeals to a number of different audiences (Whitaker, Sherman, Chamberlin, & Powers, 2004).An examination of factors influencing feeding practices and children's food related behaviors may highlight how food is offered to children, the role of the adult, and the impact of the food and mealtime environment on children's health. Further, this information can be integrated into educational videos to provide education for caregivers of young children.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
50%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
The purpose of this research is to gain knowledge about factors influencing adult feeding practices of young children and children's food preference development in order to support the creation of educational tools about feeding young children. Increasing our understanding of factors affecting adult feeding practices and children's food preferences allows researchers and educators to address those factors to enhance or improve the current feeding practices and environments used with children. The research will build on the established work to continue the understanding of the factors influencing adult feeding practices with young children and children's food preference development.
Project Methods
PROCEDURE:Study 1 (objectives 1-4) This project is a continuation of the original submission.Survey of parent feeding practices: A quantitative study will aim to identify factors affecting adult feeding practices in young children.A survey administered to a cohort of mothers in 2011 will be analyzed and a follow up request to interview the mothers will be made to those who completed the study. In partnership with the Kootenai Medical Center (KMC) Birthing Center, a purposive sample of participants were contacted post labor and delivery by a lactation consultant as part of a routine service offered through KMC. An online survey has been sent to consented mothers every three months for the first year and annually thereafter. The online survey was developed using current literature and previously validated survey instruments. Data from the participants' responses will be analyzed across the timeframe of the five years.The follow up interview request will occur after all mothers have completed the final 5 year survey. An interview script will be developed and mothers will attend a one-on-one interview in person or via phone.A small sample of the respondents who complete the interviews will be asked to record their mealtimes (feeding times) with their young children. These video recordings will be reviewed and analyzed following a qualitative design. Educational video vignettes will be developed and evaluated.Study 2 (objectives 1-2)The aim of the proposed translational research study is to determine whether adults' use of child centered nutrition phrases will result in positive food behaviors and conceptual understanding in children 3-5 years of age. Specifically, the study has two objectives 1) to measure children's food intake and food related behaviors (i.e. tasting food, serving food, and talking about food) after exposure to child centered nutrition phrases; and 2) to determine children's conceptualization of nutrition information after exposure to the child centered nutrition phrases.The participants of the study will include caregiver and child dyads (n=20) who will be randomly selected into three groups (Test 1, Test 2, and Control.) All participants will attend a nutrition education session at the beginning of the study. Dyads will agree to attend food tasting sessions that will be video recorded and food intake of the adult and child will be assessed. Each child also will participate in a conceptual testing activity at pre and post study to analyze their conceptualization of nutrition information.Participants in the experimental group will receive additional information regarding the use of child centered nutrition phrases and continued reinforcement to use the phrase, while the control group will only receive the standard nutrition education. Differences in children's food intake and food related behaviors will be determined using repeated measures ANOVA to estimate the variation and relative effect sizes.A pilot of the impact of adult pressure and encouragement (no thank you bite) on children's eating behaviors will be conducted.Study 3 (objectives 3)1. The objectives will be to identify children's food related behaviors and preferences regarding textures, tastes, and visual presentation.2. In collaboration with the child development lab and the University of Idaho Children's Center, children will be recruited to participate in preference testing to determine impacts of food (hard white wheat versus hard red wheat), textures (gritty, grainy, pearly, lumpy, smooth, ropy), and presentation. Children's hedonic preference will be recorded and their intake. Determination of whether repeated exposure impacts food preference and intake and differences among age, gender, and ethnicity will be assessed.3. Differences in preference will be assessed using nonparametric tests and differences in intake will be assessed using t-tests.Study 4 (objectives 1)1. The objectives will be to review, evaluate, edit, and develop educational video vignettes on child nutrition and feeding young children.2. Using video vignettes from previous research studies to include parent/child dyads and children's preference testing, they will be reviewed and evaluated to select content for video vignette development.3. Video vignettes will be created using selected footage to reinforce child nutrition and feeding principles.