Children's knowledge and understanding of a healthy diet is often limited, and the health consequences of eating unhealthy foods appear to be of low priority for children. Most children prefer snacks with high energy density and low nutritional value which may contribute to the rise in obesity during childhood (1,2) . This cross-sectional study aimed to 1) examine children's snack preferences and their perception of how healthy snacks are analyzed by age and gender and 2) determine the relationship between children's snacks preference (using the nutritional composition of energy, fat, sugar and salt content of the 18 snacks) and their health parameters.Children of nursery and primary schools aged 3-12 years old (212 boys and 260 girls) were interviewed at their schools and performed snack card sorting exercises in which they were presented with 18 various types of coloured snack images which counted as one portion in size. A series of ranking questions (most to least) were asked. These included three main snack perception questions, 1) children's snack preferences; 2) children's perception of their parents snack preferences for them; 3) children's perception of the snacks healthiness. Health parameters of height, weight, body fat, waist circumference and hip circumference were also measured on the day of the interview. The ranked snacks were replaced by the computed nutritional composition of energy, fat, sugar and salt content of the 18 snacks. The mean of the nutritional composition of the five top and bottom snacks chosen by children was used in the analysis.There was no significant relationship between children's age and snack preference (linear regression: F (1,469) = 2·758, p = 0·097, r 2 = 0·006) and no gender preferences of all types of snacks (independent t-test: t (469) = 0·293, p = 0·77). The perception of snack healthiness increased with age (F (1,457) = 80·53, p < 0·001, r 2 = 0·15) but there was no gender differences (t (457) = 0·552, p = 0·58). When children were asked about their parent's snack choices for them, they chose the snacks that they also perceived to be healthiest (linear regression: F (1,16) = 980·61, p < 0·001, r 2 = 0·98). The highest proportion of children brought fruit and vegetables into school as their snack (34%). Children's with high/low BMI-percentile did not show a specific preference for any snacks however, snacks high in fat and sugar content were preferred by children with higher body fat. Snacks high in energy and fat content was preferred by heavier children and snack high in fat alone was preferred by those with higher in waist circumferences and waist to hip ratio respectively (Multiple regression; adjusted for age, sex and schools, p < 0·001).In conclusion, despite Scottish, nursery and primary age children correctly perceiving what counts as a healthy snack, this perception was not translated into their snacking behaviours. Further nutrition education about healthy eating practices is required, specifically at school.
Aim(s):The number of deaf children and young people (CYP) being educated in inclusive mainstream settings rather than special schools has grown over recent years, however, this has not been without its challenges. This qualitative study aims to address a gap in the research literature by investigating what stakeholders consider to be the implications for deaf CYP from Welsh-speaking homes when educated in English medium resource units.Method:Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of stakeholders from five Local Authorities (LAs) across Wales. The stakeholders included one parent and a range of professionals: educational psychologists; teachers of the deaf (both peripatetic and based in specialist units) and a teaching assistant. Thematic Analysis was utilised to analyse the data following the guidelines of Braun and Clarke (2006).Findings:The main themes constructed were: ‘Being deaf’, ‘Being Welsh’, ‘The need for English’ and ‘The emotional impact of deafness’. The research highlights the challenges that Welsh-speaking deaf CYP and their parents encounter and the impact of being a minority within a minority.Limitations:This research was small scale, which may not be representative of a broader group. The views of the central stakeholders, that of the children and young people themselves, have not been included in this studyConclusions:The findings from this research further contribute to the broader understanding of issues within deaf education across the UK, adds a unique perspective of the Welsh context and highlights the complex relationship between language choice and educational provision, particularly for those whom English is a second language. The current findings provide an insight into perceptions of stakeholders and thus will be able to inform EP practice through supporting the educational choice and experience of deaf CYP in Wales.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.