Saudi Arabian Mothers’ Child Feeding Practices, Autonomy, and Concern about Child Weight

Almarhoon, Iman Iman; Ramsay, Samantha; Fletcher, Janice M.; Johnson, Susan M.

doi:10.19104/jfnd.2015.103

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Since the present analyses did not take potential confounders into account, further studies that test adjusted statistical models are needed to further establish the association between maternal feeding behaviours and child BMI in a Saudi sample. Our findings, in addition to evidence from previous studies (25,36) , suggest that Saudi mothers may feel great responsibility towards their role in feeding their families. Future studies that characterize feeding behaviours and examine associations with weight status are needed to help inform intervention studies aiming to enhance adaptive feeding practices and promote healthy eating behaviours among children in Saudi Arabia (56) .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Use of food as a reward and concern about child's diet Saudi mothers may be more indulgent in feeding, traditionally use food as a reward to encourage desirable behaviours and may consciously or subconsciously follow the traditional belief that heavier children are healthier (25,35,36) . We therefore elected to evaluate a modified CFQ-A model that assessed Use of Food as a Reward as a separate construct, rather than including these items with the Restriction subscale, as employed in the original questionnaire (26) .…”

Section: Demographic Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although these sociocultural adaptations are likely to be accompanied by changes in the family mealtime environment, family mealtimes and the behaviour of family members around food in Saudi society have not been efficiently explored. Although one study found that Saudi mothers of pre-school children may use restriction and pressure to eat in feeding (25) , we were unable to identify any other studies evaluating maternal feeding behaviours and practices as they relate to child weight status. Additionally, we were able to identify only one study that evaluated initial validity of a child feeding assessment tool in a convenience sample of highly educated Saudi mothers living in the USA (25) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In developing the modified nine-factor CFQ-A model, we hypothesized that Saudi mothers are more invested and indulgent in feeding and that they like to ensure that their children are 'eating enough food' and that they are at the heavier end of the normal weight range (25,35,36) . We therefore added the two additional factors, Use of Food as a Reward and Concern about Child's Diet.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city

Mosli

2019

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective:To examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ-A) in a sample of Saudi pre-schoolers and their mothers.Design:Cross-sectional study. Mothers completed questionnaires over the telephone and child anthropometry was measured objectively using standardized procedures; BMI Z-scores (BMIZ) were calculated based on the age- and sex-specific WHO growth standards and reference data. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the original seven-factor CFQ model, as well as a modified nine-factor model. Cronbach’s α was calculated to examine the internal consistency of each factor; Spearman correlation was used to examine 2-week retest reliability. Factor–factor and factor–child BMIZ correlations were examined.Setting:Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Participants:A total of 209 mothers and children were recruited from eight different pre-schools.Results:Both the original seven-factor and modified nine-factor CFQ-A exhibited good fit (root-mean-square-error of approximation < 0·05). Six out of nine factors had excellent internal consistency and all factors showed excellent 2-week test–retest reliability. There were significant correlations between child BMIZ and five out of the nine factors; Perceived Child Weight, Perceived Parent Weight, Restriction and Monitoring were each positively correlated with child BMIZ, while Concern about Child’s Diet was negatively correlated with child BMIZ.Conclusions:The study provided evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the original seven-factor and modified nine-factor CFQ-A. Future studies are needed to further establish the psychometric properties of the CFQ-A in addition to other feeding assessment tools.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Demographic Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 94%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city

Mosli

2019

Public Health Nutr.

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“…In Saudi Arabia as well as in many Arab countries, mothers are often responsible for feeding their children. Therefore, the majority of the studies conducted in these countries have mainly focused on maternal feeding practices rather than on paternal roles [20,21]. However, studies that have investigated the associations between maternal feeding practices and FNPE in Saudi Arabia are particularly lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationships between Maternal Feeding Practices and Food Neophobia and Picky Eating

Kutbi

2020

IJERPH

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Food neophobia and picky eating (FNPE) are dietary behaviors that have been frequently reported to coexist in children. Parental concerns about these dietary behaviors may influence the feeding practices employed. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the bidirectional associations of maternal feeding practices with children’s FNPE behaviors. Using a convenience sampling technique, mothers of 195 healthy children aged 1–7 years were invited to complete a sociodemographic questionnaire, rate their child’s FNPE, and rate the extent to which each feeding practice was employed with the child. Maternal reports indicated that 37.4% (n = 73) of the children exhibited severe FNPE. Multiple linear regression analyses showed positive two-way associations between the “pressure to eat” feeding strategy and FNPE, and negative two-way associations between a healthy home food environment and FNPE. However, maternal practices of teaching and monitoring were not found to be associated with FNPE. Given the bidirectional relationships observed between FNPE and maternal feeding practices, primary health care providers should address the feeding practices used with a child and indicate that coercive feeding practices are counterproductive. Intervention studies targeting mothers of children with FNPE are needed to investigate whether specific maternal practices are more effective than others.

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Adapting a parental support app for preschoolers’ health behaviors (MINISTOP) in a multi-ethnic setting: A qualitative study on needs and preferences of Somali, Arabic and Swedish speaking parents and nurses within Swedish child health care (Preprint)

Alexandrou¹,

Müssener²,

Thomas³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Similar to other high-income countries, Sweden has a socioeconomic gradient of obesity, with twice as high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in areas were the population is predominantly immigrant and more socioeconomically vulnerable. Preventive efforts in primary child health care to counteract this development already in the preschool age has been called for. Mobile health (mHealth) represents an attractive approach to deliver such obesity interventions as they are highly flexible and adaptable. However, knowledge is limited regarding what adaptations of content and features that are required to also make such interventions accessible and effective for parents with a foreign background. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore: (1) needs and concerns among Somali, Arabic and Swedish speaking parents in terms of supporting healthy diet and activity behaviors in their children; (2) nurses’ perceptions of parental needs and concerns, in relation to diet and physical activity behaviors, and (3) how features and content of a parental support app (MINISTOP 1.0) could be refined to better support health behaviors in children, among both parents and nurses. METHODS Three focus group interviews with parents speaking Somali (n=5), Arabic (n=4) and Swedish (n=6), and 15 individual telephone interviews with Swedish primary child health care nurses from different geographic and socioeconomic areas in Sweden were conducted. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. RESULTS Two main themes were identified in the data. The first theme, “Parenthood and health behaviors”, highlighted insecurities and concerns among parents relating to a healthy diet in their children. Swedish speaking parents expressed being stressed about trying to adhere to dietary recommendations, while Arabic speaking parents requested clear information on how to adhere to them. Nurses underlined the need of targeting parents early and strengthening them in their parenting role. In the second theme, “Preferences of content and features”, parents and nurses expressed key aspects that needed to be included in an app. For example, parents from all three focus groups suggested inclusion of clear and reassuring information on children’s diet and eating behaviors. Parents also requested inclusion of social and emotional support rather than just recommendations per se. Nurses talked about the value of a shared digital platform with clear information and pictures, available in different languages, to aid their communication with the parents. CONCLUSIONS This study contributes with valuable insights and knowledge about adapting a parental app supporting health behaviors in children in a multi-ethnic setting. Findings include the importance of strengthening parents in their role, as well as translating and making relevant adaptations to the app, for it to be accessible for parents speaking other languages and facilitate parent-nurse communication.

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Saudi Arabian Mothers’ Child Feeding Practices, Autonomy, and Concern about Child Weight

Abstract: Background and Objectives:

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city

Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city

The Relationships between Maternal Feeding Practices and Food Neophobia and Picky Eating

Adapting a parental support app for preschoolers’ health behaviors (MINISTOP) in a multi-ethnic setting: A qualitative study on needs and preferences of Somali, Arabic and Swedish speaking parents and nurses within Swedish child health care (Preprint)

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