Parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to children’s beverage consumption in youth soccer: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Objective: To explore parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs, e.g. soft drinks, juice drinks, sports drinks) and other beverages provided by parents at youth sports events. Design: Qualitative analysis of focus group discussions. Setting: Ada County, Idaho, USA. Method: A total of 3 focus groups were conducted with 24 parents of 6- to 11-year-old children participating in one community recreational soccer league. Parents were asked how they selected beverages for their children at soccer practices and games, and shared ideas for improving healthy beverage consumption in this setting. Two coders performed an inductive content analysis of the focus group transcripts, and an external reviewer established the trustworthiness of the data. Results: Parents expressed uncertainty about which beverages other than water were best for children’s health and performance. Beverage choices were affected by factors such as cost, convenience, the weather, the level of competition and children’s ages. Parents also noted the influence of coaches, other parents, their children’s preferences, their beverage habits at home and the media. Parents desired evidence-based guidance on optimal beverages for youth athletes and recommended specific interventions to reduce consumption of SSBs in the context of youth sport events. Conclusion: Results indicate the need for developmentally appropriate expert recommendations for healthy beverage consumption in recreational youth sport, and reinforce findings from existing research which suggest that parents desire support to ensure healthy beverages are offered at youth sports events.

The Nutritional Status of Athletes in the Athletics Branches of DKI Jakarta During the Covid-19 Period Based on Anthropometry

“…Parents and coaches' support is vital to keep the nutritional status of athletes both at the training ground and at home. The study results state that one of the supports of parents in maintaining the nutritional quality of children is proven that they expect the provision of healthy water and food consumption during competitions (Bolter et al, 2020).…”

Choice, Motives, and Mixed Messages: A Qualitative Photo-Based Inquiry of Parents’ Perceptions of Food and Beverage Marketing to Children in Sport and Recreation Facilities

“…Restricting unhealthy food marketing in sport and recreation facilities is recommended by the World Health Organization due to the strength of evidence that exposure to marketing for foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in fat, sugar, or salt negatively impacts children’s food-related beliefs, attitudes, preferences, and practices [ 28 ]. Limited research has explored parents’ perceptions of food environments in sport and recreation [ 23 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Research on parents’ perceptions of sports-related food marketing has focused on sport sponsorship and sport celebrity endorsement [ 30 ]; no research has comprehensively assessed parents’ perspectives of food marketing in RSF.…”

Exploring the influence of context on social norms around Australian parents’ food provision using story completion

“…who is involved or present, what else is happening and where the food provision takes place. For example, provision practices and intake can differ when involving other people (7) including grandparents (8) and friends (5,(9)(10)(11) , or in different settings such as eating out (12)(13)(14)(15) , on weekends (10,16) , at school (17,18) or sport (19,20) . Social norms are one inter-related factor of the social and physical environment, which have been found to impact food choice and behaviours (21)(22)(23)(24) .…”

“…who is involved or present, what else is happening and where the food provision takes place. For example, provision practices and intake can differ when involving other people ( 7 ) including grandparents ( 8 ) and friends ( 5 , 9 – 11 ) , or in different settings such as eating out ( 12 – 15 ) , on weekends ( 10 , 16 ) , at school ( 17 , 18 ) or sport ( 19 , 20 ) .…”