Reducing adult obesity in childhood: Parental influence on the food choices of children

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the complexities and pressures faced by parents when trying to embed knowledge of healthy eating in their children's lifestyles. Design: Qualitative design using focus groups with parents and children aged 10 to 11 years. Methods: The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved five focus groups with 47 children. The results of these focus groups then informed the development of a second phase consisting of three focus groups with 15 parents of these children. The findings from the children's focus groups were then discussed with parents to explore their understandings and perceptions of how children perceived health, diet and lifestyle. Results: Parents are one of the main influences when it comes to shaping their children's decisions in relation to healthy eating. Children, but also parents, appeared to only have a partial knowledge about food and diet, and parents did not know how to translate this knowledge into decisions about healthy eating. Parents in this study felt under pressure when trying to incorporate healthy messages within the context of their own lives and they also wanted to feel more confident about the role they can play in the nutritional choices of their children. Conclusion: Healthy eating strategies may need to move away from focusing solely on parents as conduits of knowledge but instead see both them and their children as playing an active part in designing interactive strategies about making healthy food choices.

Including the voices of children and young people in health policy development: An Irish perspective

“…Healthy parents were seen as providing positive examples. This reflects other research identifying parents as one of the main influences when it comes to shaping their children’s decisions in relation to healthy eating (Watkins and Jones, 2015). Previous research with children and young people also suggests that parents play a key role in determining the types of foods which children eat (Fitzgerald et al, 2010).…”

How do adults define the treats they give to children? A thematic analysis

“…Parents seemed to struggle to verbalise the conflict between knowing that treats are unhealthy while providing these foods to their children frequently and in a positive context. This exposed associated cognitive dissonance, reflected in work by Watkins and Jones (2014) who found parents struggle with the idea of 'being a good parent', experiencing ambivalence and cognitive dissonance associated with doing what they think is right for their child, and doing what their child would like them to do.…”

“…Broadly speaking, foods given to children other than their main meals, is typically for either nutritive reasons (promoting growth or satiety) or non-nutritive/ emotion-focused purposes (such as a reward, for behavioural control, to manage emotion or to celebrate events or achievements) (Musher-Eizenman & Holub, 2007). Despite the nurturing intentions of adults, longitudinal research has shown that children given food to manage their emotions may present with emotional-related eating problems (emotional eating) in adulthood (Blissett, Haycraft, & Farrow, 2010;Braden et al, 2014;Farrow, Haycraft, & Blissett, 2015;Watkins & Jones, 2014). Treats tend to be given for non-nutritive reasons; however the behavioural motivations of adults and the long-term impact of treat giving behaviours requires further investigation.…”

Gender differences in purchase intentions and reasons for meal selection among fast food customers – Opportunities for healthier and more sustainable fast food

“…The decision-making process in a fast food restaurant is very hasty, a condition that favors making automatic, heuristically based decisions (Lesser et al, 2013). Moreover, fast food is often regarded as a treat, and this may not fit with consumers' perception of a healthy meal (Rydell et al, 2008;Watkins & Jones, 2014).…”