Parental food communication and child eating behaviours: A systematic literature review.

AIM: To review current evidence for parental food communication practices and their association with child eating behaviours. METHODS: The PRISMA framework guided the reporting of the review; registered with Prospero in July 2020. Eligible studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute tools. Only quantitative studies that included a parental measure of food communication and a child measure of eating behaviour were included. RESULTS: From 11 063 articles 23 were eligible for synthesis. The vast majority (82%) of studies used observational cross-sectional designs. Three involved observing parent-child dyads, with the remainder using questionnaires. Two quasi-experimental designs tested interventions and two randomised control trial were reported. The majority of measures assessing parental food communication were subscales of larger questionnaires. The Caregiver's Feeding Style Questionnaire (CFSQ) was the most direct and relevant measure of parental food communication. Findings of reviewed studies highlighted that "how" parents communicate about food appears to impact child eating behaviours. Using child-centred communication provided promising outcomes for positive child eating behaviours, while parental "diet" communication was found to be associated with poorer dietary outcomes in children. CONCLUSIONS: Food communication research is in its infancy. However, evidence for the importance of parents' child-focused food communication is emerging, providing a focus for future research and interventions. SO WHAT?: Given the gaps in our understanding about prevention of disordered eating, there is a significant opportunity to explore what food communication strategies may assist parents to communicate about food in a positive way.

Multicomponent approaches to promoting healthy behaviours in people with Type 2 diabetes: an integrative review.

The progression of diabetes-related complications can be delayed with multifactorial interventions that support healthy behaviours. However, many initiatives have focused on educational or individual-level activities and observed limited or modest sustained improvements in healthy behaviours. A multicomponent approach to behaviour change, which simultaneously considers numerous social determinants of health across multiple socio-ecological model levels, may be required to achieve meaningful health outcomes for people with Type 2 diabetes. Applying a multicomponent method of inquiry, this integrative review aimed to synthesize the evidence on interventions using multifactorial interventions to promote healthy behaviours in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Interventions promoting healthy behaviours in adults with Type 2 diabetes were considered for the review. A total of 7205 abstracts retrieved from eight databases were screened for inclusion. Thirteen articles were included, of these 11 achieved statistically significant clinical and/or behavioural changes in outcomes such as glycated haemoglobin, blood pressure, cholesterol, diet and physical activity. The multifactorial components utilized included the coordination of multi-disciplinary health care teams, in-person self-care classes, group activities, incorporation of peer-leaders, the development of community partnerships, economic relief and built-environment support. The proportion of included studies published within recent years indicates a trend towards multicomponent interventions and the growing recognition of this approach in promoting public health. Our findings provide early support for the potential of extending intervention components beyond educational, individual-level and health care system-level focus to incorporate multiple socio-ecological model components that contribute to the system of influence affecting the health of people with diabetes.

Geographic remoteness and socioeconomic disadvantage reduce the supportiveness of food and physical activity environments in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: An analysis of food and physical activity environments in relation to socioeconomic disadvantage was conducted in 25 communities across Queensland, Australia. METHODS: Physical activity and food environments were assessed in 25 Queensland communities using The Systematic Pedestrian and Cycling Environmental Scan (SPACES) and the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey (NEMS). Spearman's correlation tested the association between physical activity and food environments and degree of remoteness and socioeconomic disadvantage of each region. RESULTS: A significant negative association was observed between the supermarket food environment and degree of remoteness and socioeconomic disadvantage. All regions have a moderately supportive environment for physical activity. Food availability and price varied in supermarkets with more remote communities having less supportive food environments. CONCLUSIONS: Areas with a high degree of remoteness and socioeconomic disadvantage were more likely to experience disadvantages in the physical activity, supermarket, and restaurant food environments than metropolitan areas and socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: Socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness were associated with reduced supportiveness of the built environment hindering the ability of consumers to make healthy food and physical activity choices. Improving the food and physical activity environments in these areas may assist in reducing the health inequalities experienced by these communities.