Environmental influences on children's eating

Crockett, Susan J.; Sims, Laura S.

doi:10.1016/s0022-3182(12)80792-8

Cited by 156 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Similar findings have been reported in the neighbouring Zhejiang Province (Hesketh et al, 2002). In Western countries, high education of parents is associated with healthy eating (Crockett & Sims, 1995;Samuelson et al, 1996). In our study, we found the opposite, higher education of father was associated with high intake of full fat milk (milk score) and other high-energy density foods (animal food score).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Some of these factors are endogenous to the individual child, but others are environmental. The latter include the foods made available to children inside and outside the home and the modelling of food behaviours by caregivers, especially parents (Crockett & Sims, 1995;Birch & Fisher, 1998;Baranowski et al, 1999;Birch, 1999). Studies show that current eating environment in developed countries fosters food preferences and food selections inconsistent with healthy dietary guidelines, thus promoting excess weight gain and obesity (Crockett & Sims, 1995;Birch, 1999;St-Onge et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socio-demographic differences in food habits and preferences of school adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China

et al. 2005

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Objective: To identify the differences in food habits and preferences among the adolescents according to socio-demographic characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional, cluster design survey in 2002. Setting: Eight middle schools in two distinct socio-economic areas of the Jiangsu province, China. Subjects: Some 824 young adolescents (12-14 y) attending public schools with a response rate of 99%. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire containing questions on food and meal frequencies, food preferences and sociodemographic characteristics was used. Results: High socio-economic status (SES) and urban residence was positively associated with intake of high-energy foods, such as foods of animal origin, Western style foods and dairy products. In all, 76% of the students had three meals a day regularly , but 8.1% urban students vs 3.4% rural students had breakfast only 1-3 times per week or less often. Daily fruit consumption was fairly common, but with clear differences by SES. Only about 42% of the boys and 55% of the girls from low SES families ate fruit daily, compared with 66% and 72%, respectively in the high SES families. Urban boys had the lowest proportion of daily consumers of vegetables (67.0%). More urban students drank milk daily than the rural students (68.7 vs 38.5%). The frequency of milk drinking also showed a strong positive association with SES. About 10% of the high SES boys consumed hamburgers daily compared with 2.8% of the low SES boys. More than half of the students reported a liking for Western style fast foods including hamburgers, soft drinks and chocolate. Among high SES boys, 21.5% consumed soft drinks on a daily basis; however, as many as 72.3% wanted to drink soft drinks more often if they could afford it. Conclusions: SES and urban location were positively associated with frequency of intake of high-energy foods. Reported food preferences may enforce this trend. Nutrition education for adolescents and parents is needed to promote healthy eating. Health Authorities should strengthen the monitoring of food intake and its association with overweight/obesity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-demographic differences in food habits and preferences of school adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China

et al. 2005

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“…Studies have shown that children's eating habits and food choices are largely in¯uenced by their environment (Crockett & Sims, 1995) and that the family plays an important role in both the development and prevention of weight problems in children (Epstein et al, 1994(Epstein et al, , 1996. It is the parent's role to maximize the family's health by stockton-press.co.uk/ejcn controlling the quality and pattern of the food environment and imparting appropriate eating habits and activity patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A linear relationship exists between the hours of daily television viewing and childhood obesity owing to the more sedentary life-style encouraged by watching television and the greater exposure of the viewer to advertisements promoting food products (Dietz & Gortmaker 1985). Increasing physical activity is one of the important factors in weight loss programs (Wadden, 1992;Epstein, 1996).Studies have shown that children's eating habits and food choices are largely in¯uenced by their environment (Crockett & Sims, 1995) and that the family plays an important role in both the development and prevention of weight problems in children (Epstein et al, 1994(Epstein et al, , 1996. It is the parent's role to maximize the family's health by stockton-press.co.uk/ejcn controlling the quality and pattern of the food environment and imparting appropriate eating habits and activity patterns.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reliability and validity of the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire

1998

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Objective: The purpose of this work was to develop and test an instrument that will identify the factors that facilitate childhood obesity and monitor the environmental changes and family behavior modi®cations associated with weight loss. Design and methods:The relevant factors that affect obesity and weight loss in children were divided into four scales: activity level, stimulus exposure, eating related to hunger, and eating style. We designed a questionnaire to be completed by the parents of the obese child aged 6 ± 11 years. Scores accumulated were calculated separately for each member of the family. Higher numerical scores re¯ected less appropriate eating patterns. The questionnaire reliability (test ± retest), internal consistency and ability to discriminate obese vs normal-weight children's behaviors was tested using a pilot population of 40 mothers not enrolled in a formal weight loss program. The questionnaire reliability (parents' report and spouse report) and predictive validity was tested using a selective population: 60 parents of obese children enrolled in a clinical intervention intended to treat childhood obesity with an environmental approach vs a dietary approach. Results: The content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by a team of ten experts. Cronbach's a was calculated to test internal consistency. Mean r was 0.83. Pearson's correlation coef®cients were computed between test and retest scores for individual items and for the total score, and ranged from 0.78 to 0.90 (median 0.84) (P`0.01 for all). Total score test ± retest r was 0.85 (P`0.01). The total family score was also higher in the families with an obese child compared to families with a normal-weight child, P`0.01. No signi®cant differences were noted between parent report and spouse report scores. The construct validity of the questionnaire was also supported by its high sensitivity to weight loss treatment. Weight loss in the child correlated highly with improvement in questionnaire score. Conclusions: The Family Activity and Eating Habits Questionnaire is reliable and internally consistent, and it is useful as an optional tool for planning an intervention program for childhood obesity. Descriptors: Family Activity and Eating Habits Questionnaire; childhood obesity IntroductionChildhood obesity has signi®cant immediate and long-term implications (Must et al, 1992; Pi Sunyer, 1993;Mossberg, 1989). The medical literature is replete with studies of obesity-enhancing behaviors in children. These include eating in response to stimuli other than hunger; leisure time spent in sedentary manner; excess availability to unsuitable foods and environmental modeling of poor eating behavior (Wadden, 1992;Epstein, 1996;Wardle, 1996). The majority of authors agree that obesity would be limited if children were to eat only when hungry (Wadden, 1992;Epstein, 1996). Most nonproductive food intake occurs for reasons other than hunger: boredom, stress, social pressure, etc. To limit these opportunities, it was suggested that eating should take p...

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“…The family is critical in the general socialisation of children (12) and is a prominent element of the social environment where dietary behaviours are enacted and learned (13) . Moreover, there is convincing evidence that the family environment is important in influencing the dietary behaviours of young people (14)(15)(16)(17) . A recent systematic review of environmental correlates of obesity-related dietary behaviours in youth found that environmental factors were most consistently studied at the household level, and that parental intake was consistently associated with youth's dietary intake (18) .…”

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confidence: 99%

Family correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in children and adolescents: a systematic review

Pearson

Biddle

Gorely

2009

Public Health Nutr.

655

600

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Objectives: To review associations between the family environment and young people's fruit and vegetable consumption. Design: A systematic review. Published English-language (n 60) papers were identified using electronic databases and manual searches of personal files and reference lists. Observational research reporting a measure of fruit/vegetable intake for children (aged 6-11 years) and/or adolescents (aged 12-18 years) and at least one potential family correlate of dietary intake was included. Results: Parental modelling and parental intake were consistently and positively associated with children's fruit and fruit, juice and vegetable (FJV) consumption. There were also positive associations between home availability, family rules and parental encouragement and children's fruit and vegetable consumption. Parental intake was positively associated with adolescents' fruit and vegetable consumption. There were also positive associations between parental occupational status and adolescent fruit consumption and between parental education and adolescents' FJV consumption. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of targeting the family environment for the promotion of healthy eating behaviours among children and adolescents. Future interventions should encourage parents to be positive role models by targeting parental intake and to create a supportive home environment through increased encouragement and availability of fruits and vegetables and employing rules to govern eating behaviours. For adolescents, indicators of family circumstances (e.g. parental education) should be used to identify target groups for interventions aimed at promoting healthy eating. Keywords Adolescents Children Family correlates Fruit VegetablesThere is compelling evidence that diets rich in fruits and vegetables have health-protective effects (1) . While most of the research on associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and health outcomes has focused on adults, there is growing evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption in children may protect against a range of childhood illnesses (2) . Targeting young people to improve health behaviours, such as consuming the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables, is important because evidence suggests that dietary behaviours track from childhood to adolescence (3,4) and food behaviour and food choices established in childhood or adolescence may significantly track into adulthood (5) . Moreover, child fruit consumption may be protective against cancer in adulthood (6) .Recommendations vary by country but public health agendas across the globe share the common goals of increasing the consumption levels of fruit and vegetables and encouraging people to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables. Despite the health benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables, national health surveys indicate that children and adolescents are eating fewer fruits and vegetables than is recommended for health (7)(8)(9) . Data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (HBSC) ...

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Environmental influences on children's eating

Cited by 156 publications

References 71 publications

Socio-demographic differences in food habits and preferences of school adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China

Socio-demographic differences in food habits and preferences of school adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China

Reliability and validity of the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire

Family correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in children and adolescents: a systematic review

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