Empowering parents to optimize feeding practices with preschool children (EPO-Feeding): A study protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Parental feeding practices (PFPs) play a key role in fostering preschoolers' dietary habits and in mitigating the risk of childhood obesity. Nevertheless, parents often employ inappropriate feeding practices, leading to children's potential nutrition-related issues. Thus, research is needed to inform interventions that focus on optimizing feeding practices. METHODS: This protocol describes the evaluation of a novel intervention-Empowering Parents to Optimize Feeding Practices (EPO-Feeding Program). The program will be evaluated with a two-arm feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Yangzhou, China. The program includes four weekly group-based training sessions led by healthcare professionals for parents of preschool children. The intervention incorporates sessions, group discussions, motivational interviewing, and supplementary materials (e.g., key messages and educational videos) aimed at enhancing parents' knowledge, skills, and behaviours related to feeding practices. The primary outcomes include i) implementation feasibility, primarily assessed through retention rates; and ii) program acceptability through a survey and qualitative process evaluation. Secondary outcomes encompass the potential impacts on i) PFPs, ii) parental perception of child weight (PPCW), iii) parenting sense of competence, iv) children's eating behaviours, and v) child weight status. Quantitative analyses include descriptive estimates for evaluating the feasibility and linear mixed regression analysis for testing the potential effects. Qualitative valuation will use thematic framework analysis. DISCUSSION: If this study shows this program to be feasible to implement and acceptable to parents, it will be used to inform a fully powered trial to determine its effectiveness. The research will also help inform policy and practices in the context of child nutrition promotion, particularly regarding implementing group-based training sessions by healthcare providers in similar settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, Protocol #NCT06181773, 20/11/2023.

The effectiveness of interventions on changing caregivers' feeding practices with preschool children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Caregivers' feeding practices are critical in shaping preschool children's eating habits and preventing childhood obesity. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions targeting caregivers of preschool children, which aimed to promote child healthy eating and/or manage child weight and/or prevent child nutrition-related problems and included feeding practices as one of the outcomes. Eighteen studies with 18 intervention programs and 3887 respondents that completed baseline evaluations were eligible for data synthesis. Behavior change techniques (BCTs) frequently used included the following: instruction on how to perform the behavior and demonstration of the behavior. The pooled effects of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on pressure to eat (pooled standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.61; 95%CI: -1.16, -0.06), use of food as a reward (pooled SMD = -0.31; 95%CI: -0.61, -0.01), and emotional feeding (pooled SMD = -0.36; 95%CI: -0.66, -0.06) were found statistically significant compared with control groups at post-intervention. However, there were no pooled effects on restrictive feeding and pressure to eat at other follow-ups or on other feeding practices at post-intervention. Interventions may have short-term effects on decreasing the adoption of coercive control. Future interventions should directly and adequately optimize feeding practices, include components of individual support, and contribute to the maintenance of the effects over the long term.

Aliphatic Hydrosilanes via Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Csp3-Si Coupling of Primary Alkyl Bromides and Chlorohydrosilanes.

The reductive C-Si coupling of chlorosilanes offers efficient access to organosilanes, but its potential for constructing aliphatic ones remains largely unexplored. This manuscript presents a nickel-catalyzed Csp3-Si coupling reaction of unactivated alkyl-Br and R2Si(H)Cl. This work establishes a new approach for synthesizing highly functionalized aliphatic hydrosilanes from readily available chemical feedstocks. The reaction is easily scalable and can accommodate various functional groups, including carboxylic acids, which are usually incompatible with basic conditions.

Bidirectional Associations between Parental Feeding Practices and Child Eating Behaviors in a Chinese Sample.

BACKGROUND: Child eating behaviors (CEBs) and parental feeding practices (PFPs) play critical roles in childhood obesity. However, the bidirectional relationships between CEBs and PFPs remain equivocal. This longitudinal study aimed to explore their bidirectional relationships. METHODS: A convenience sample of 870 parents with preschoolers was recruited in this longitudinal study (Shanghai, China). Three non-responsive feeding practices (NFPs), three responsive feeding practices (RFPs), five CEBs, and covariates were collected using validated questionnaires at baseline and the 6-month follow-up. Cross-lagged analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed to examine their bidirectional relationships. RESULTS: Eight hundred and fifty-three parents completed questionnaires, with a response rate of 98%. The mean age of their children at baseline was 4.39 years (standard deviation = 0.72 years). Eighteen out of sixty longitudinal cross-lagged paths were statistically significant. Parental encouragement of healthy eating and content-restricted feeding were found to be bidirectionally associated with child food fussiness. Four parent-driven associations and one child-driven association were identified between RFPs and CEBs. For example, monitoring was negatively associated with children's unhealthy eating habits (ß = -0.066, standard error (SE) = 0.025, p < 0.01). Eight child-driven associations and one parent-driven association were observed between NFPs and CEBs. For example, higher child satiety responsiveness predicted a higher pressure to eat (ß = 0.057, SE = 0.029, p < 0.01) and the use of food as a reward (ß = 0.083, SE = 0.031, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There were bidirectional, parent-driven, and child-driven associations. Parents should be encouraged to adopt RFPs to shape CEBs. Increasing parents' understanding of CEBs and providing them with reasonable coping strategies would help optimize PFPs.