Parental intentions to implement vegetable feeding strategies at home: A cross sectional study.

In order to increase vegetable intake by children, parents are encouraged to implement strategies that promote trying and eating vegetables at mealtimes. Qualitative studies have previously highlighted barriers parents face in implementing healthy eating practices, such as time, monetary costs and child factors (e.g. fussy eaters). This study aimed to specify the relationships between child and parent factors and their effects on parental intentions to implement vegetable feeding strategies at mealtimes. Parental intentions to implement meal service (serving larger portions, offering variety, serving vegetables first) and experiential learning (repeated exposure, games, sensory play) strategies were examined. Parents (N = 302, 73 male, Mage = 33.5) also explained reasons why certain strategies may or may not work for their child (4-7y). For both types of strategy, higher food fussiness of the child predicted higher parental intentions to implement strategies at home. However, this was competitively mediated by low beliefs that the strategy would work for their child, resulting in weaker overall positive effects on intentions. In the meal service model, parental beliefs that healthy eating is important for their child had a positive, indirect effect on higher intentions, through involved parental feeding practices. However, this was not significant in the experiential learning strategies model. Written parental responses suggest that this may be due to meal service approaches being viewed as easier to implement, with little additional effort required. Increasing parental confidence to implement strategies successfully and managing expectations around successful outcomes of strategies (e.g. tasting, eating) may be important focuses of future interventions to support parents implementing vegetable feeding strategies at mealtimes.

An online study examining children's selection of vegetables at mealtimes: The role of meal contexts, variety and liking.

Associative learning predicts that children expect to eat vegetables together with foods high in carbohydrate and protein at mealtimes. However, choosing to eat and consume vegetables may be less likely if they are presented alongside more palatable, competing foods. This study examined food choices of children (N = 180, 8-11 years, 84 female) in a mealtime context. During an online task, children chose one food for a meal, from a choice of vegetables and either a food high in carbohydrate or protein. Preference was assessed with and without a partial meal stimulus, to test the effect of other foods on the plate. Vegetables were selected more often with a meal stimulus, especially when it consisted of carbohydrate and protein foods, meaning that the vegetable option added nutritional variety to the meal. This effect was moderated by the difference in liking between the food options available. Vegetables were selected more if they were better liked than the competing food option, although it was not necessary that vegetables were better liked if they added nutritional variety to the meal. Food fussy children were less likely to select vegetables, but no other effects of child appetitive traits or parental practices were found on children's food choices. Children may be more likely to select vegetables if they add nutritional variety to a meal and are similarly or better liked than competing food options. Future research could test specific meal configurations which promote children's selection and intake of vegetables at mealtimes.

Interventions for Increasing Acceptance of New Foods Among Children and Adults with Developmental Disorders: A Systematic Review.

People with developmental disorders (DD) often display high levels of selective eating, which can result in micronutrient deficiencies. It is therefore essential to explore ways to increase dietary variety in this population. To identify different types of interventions promoting increased acceptance of new foods or dietary variety for DD populations and to determine their effectiveness. Thirty-six studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. Twenty-two types of intervention were identified with 34 studies being reported as effective and 33 of these incorporating components drawn from learning theory. Multi-component interventions centred on operant conditioning, systematic desensitisation and changes to environment and familial practices were reported as effective for individuals.

Israeli and British women's wellbeing and eating behaviours in pregnancy and postpartum.

OBJECTIVES: The study had two main objectives: (a) track changes in self-esteem, eating behaviours and body satisfaction from early pregnancy to 24 months postpartum and (b) to compare changes by context (Israel vs. UK) and maternal body mass index (BMI). BACKGROUND: High maternal BMI is associated with negative body image and restrained eating, which are experienced differently across cultures. METHODS: 156 pregnant women were recruited from Israel and the UK. Seventy-three women were followed up every six months from early postpartum and until 24 months following birth. Women completed questionnaires assessing self-esteem (RSEQ), body image (BIS/BIDQ) and eating behaviours (DEBQ) and self-reported weights and heights so that BMI could be calculated. RESULTS: Women with higher BMI had higher levels of self-esteem and were less satisfied with their body. Healthy-weight women were more likely to lose all of their retained pregnancy weight compared to overweight and obese women. Self-esteem, body image and eating behaviours remained stable from pregnancy until 24 months postpartum. No significant differences were found for any measure by context. CONCLUSION: BMI was the strongest predictor of self-esteem and body dissatisfaction and a higher BMI predicted less weight loss postpartum.

Infant hunger and satiety cues during the first two years of life: Developmental changes of within meal signalling.

Overfeeding in infancy may lead to overweight and obesity in later childhood. Mothers are advised to "tune in" to their infant's hunger, appetite and satiation cues to prevent overfeeding. The present study aimed to 1) assess stability and change in infant hunger and satiety cues (first two years of life) taken at six monthly intervals; 2) track the expression of appetite cues during the course of a meal (beginning, middle and end). Thirty-eight women (mean age 35.3 + 3.7 years) participated in the study. Mothers were within a normal weight range (BMI = 22 + 3.3 kg/m2), most were married (N = 35; 95%) and for most this was not their first child. After an initial investigation (T1) follow-up visits took place every six months with filmed meals involving solid foods. A typical meal contained foods high in protein and carbohydrate plus cooked vegetables. Films were viewed and communication cues (engagement indicating appetite and disengagement indicating satiation) identified and recorded by appearance using the NCAST (Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training). Coding included the frequency and time at which each cue appeared. Results showed that infants were more likely to communicate potent engagement cues such as babbling, mutual gaze and looking at mother with age. None of the disengagement cues showed any significant main effects of time of follow up. Most, not all, feeding cues were stable across the segment of the feed and did not show a simple linear change across the meal, rather this appeared to develop with age. Raising awareness of these cues with mothers may encourage more responsive and positive mealtime interactions.