Long-term effects of a healthy eating blog in mothers and children

A qualitative study of healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health among single mothers in Canada

Single motherhood is associated with higher demands in home and family responsibilities that may exist in similar sized households with grandparents. These demands can compete with opportunities and resources for maintenance of healthy behaviours. This may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic since supports outside the home may have been restricted by public health measures. A qualitative narrative study was conducted to explore these issues with 12 single mothers in Canada. Semi-structured interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the challenges and facilitators to maintaining healthy eating habits, physical activity levels, and mental health. Theory-driven content and structural analysis were applied through a descriptive thematic approach. Challenges to maintaining healthy eating behaviours included stay-at-home orders, limited budget, unhealthy food/cravings, and lack of motivation. In contrast, living with grandparents who provide help or having an understanding of healthy food were factors that facilitated engagement in healthy eating. Challenges to maintaining physical activity levels included lack of willpower, lack of time, and low energy. Whereas time on one's own, weighing scales or outdoor gear, and weather conditions promoted physical activity. Spirituality and gratitude were the main coping mechanisms used to deal with loneliness, unemployment, and depressive symptoms. Further research into the utility of gratitude as a coping mechanism could inform public health interventions that aim to increase levels of well-being among single mothers.

Social Networking Services as a Tool for Support of Mothers: A Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Difficulties experienced by mothers in raising their children can be resolved using social networking services (SNSs). Being aware of issues associated with SNSs in such situations may be useful for supporting mothers. We herein review the issues associated with using SNSs to support mothers.

METHODS

This review was conducted using an electronic search engine to search for articles that described issues associated with using SNSs to support mothers, and which were published up to August 2022.

RESULTS

After screening, a total of 19 articles were included. We thematically categorized the contents into three major issues associated with using SNSs for support of mothers: (1) issues on the management side, (2) issues on the user side, and (3) social and environmental issues. The mainly discussed issues were the safety of using SNSs and/or securing and training human resources on the management side, busyness of mothers on the user side, as well as sociocultural and communication environment-related limitations as social and environmental issues.

CONCLUSIONS

The issues we detected would aid in developing the use of SNSs as a tool to support mothers. Further research on these issues is needed.

Recipe Components and Parents' Infant and Young Child Feeding Concerns: A Mixed-Methods Study of Recipe Posts Shared in Thai Facebook Groups for Parents

Social media is increasingly becoming a significant source of information for parents, including about feeding young children. However, little attention has been given to the characteristics of recipes for infants and young children and how they interact with parental perceptions regarding food decisions shared by users on social media. Building on findings related to shared recipe components and parental food choices, between December 2019 and July 2020, this study retrospectively collected 80 shared recipes each from five Thai Facebook groups. This extraction created 379 shared recipes with 1751 peers’ commentaries on the shared recipes’ posts. The shared recipes were classified and components quantified across child age groups, then the textual contents around the reasons behind the food choices were described qualitatively. The results showed that there were differences in meal types, food ingredients, and seasoning used across child age groups. Further analysis found that food allergy awareness was one driving concern behind parental perceptions on food choices in children’s diets. These concerns resulted in delays in the introduction of animal-source foods. Moreover, peers’ commentaries on shared recipes offered a venue for exchanging experiences with food products. Because of the potential influence on parental beliefs and perceptions, further studies are required to understand the impact of existing online communities on actual feeding practices.

Child feeding practices and concerns: Thematic content analysis of Thai virtual communities

Parents' child feeding practices are influenced not only by family but also by a broader circle of networks, including online groups. Peer-to-peer platforms such as Facebook groups facilitate a learning environment and may influence the transmission of user-generated content into practice. These digital data not only benefit participants but also offer new opportunities for researchers to study related phenomena. Therefore, this study employs thematic content analysis to investigate peer-exchanging discourse conveyed in Facebook peer-support groups in children's diets in Thailand. To identify the area of interest, we classified and quantified the initial posts and investigated the relationship between initial posts' contents and community engagement. Thematic analysis was used to qualitatively describe the peer-exchanging content that responded to the initial posts. Of the five approved Facebook groups, 200 initial posts with their 1964 comments were extracted anonymously. Results revealed that Facebook groups devoted to diets for children have become a platform for Thai parents to seek informational and emotional support. The top-ranked initial posts were related to requesting knowledge and skills about age-appropriate food and meal preparation. Parents have also expressed anxiety about feeding and tension related to food fussiness which created the need for emotional support. Age-appropriate feeding, homemade baby foods, concerns about food seasonings and food allergy awareness were observable within online groups. However, a shift from traditional child feeding practices to new ideas created cultural gaps which lead to arguments in some families. Understanding these views would help guide to address parental concerns better.

Factors influencing engagement and dietary behaviour change of mothers and their children in a blog-delivered healthy eating intervention: a process evaluation of a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

A randomised controlled trial found no evidence of an impact of a blog written by a registered dietitian (RD) on vegetables and fruit and milk and alternatives (e.g. soya-based beverages, yogurt and cheese) consumption - two food groups included in the 2007 version of the Canadian Food Guide - in mothers and their children compared with a control condition. To investigate these null findings, the current study explored participants' perceptions of engagement with the blog and its influence on their dietary behaviours.

DESIGN

Mixed methods process evaluation using a post-intervention satisfaction questionnaire and a content analysis of mothers' comments on the blog (n 213 comments).

SETTING

French-speaking adult mothers living in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (n 26; response rate = 61·9 % of the total sample randomised to exposure to the blog).

RESULTS

Most mothers (n 20/26; 76·9 %) perceived the blog useful to improve their dietary habits - with the most appreciated blog features being nutritional information and healthy recipes and interactions with fellow participants and the RD. Mothers reported several facilitators (e.g. meal planning and involving children in household food activities) and few barriers (e.g. lack of time and children's food preferences) to maternal and child consumption of vegetables and fruit and milk and alternatives. Lack of time was the principal reported barrier affecting blog engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from the current study suggest that blogs written by an RD may be an acceptable format of intervention delivery among mothers, but may not alleviate all the barriers to healthy eating and engagement in a dietary intervention.

Recruitment and retention of mothers of preschoolers and school-aged children in a social media-delivered healthy eating intervention: lessons learned from a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Social media represent cost-effective platforms to advance the dissemination and uptake of health research to improve population health. However, there is limited evidence available to support researchers overcome methodological challenges related to recruitment and retention of participants in studies using social media for delivering behavior change interventions. This study aims to describe the recruitment and the retention strategies used in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that evaluated a blog-delivered healthy eating intervention among mothers of preschoolers and school-aged children.

METHODS

Eighty-four adult mothers of children aged between two and 12 years old living in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, were recruited between October 2015 and February 2017 using traditional methods (e.g. institutional email lists, flyers, newspapers, and word of mouth) and Facebook advertisements. Retention rates were calculated at the end of the 6-month intervention and at a 12-month follow-up assessment. Sociodemographic characteristics, Internet use behaviors and retention rates of mothers recruited through traditional methods and Facebook were compared using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests and Fisher exact tests.

RESULTS

Of the 196 mothers who responded to the recruitment call, 87 (44.4%) were eligible and 84 (42.9%) were randomized to the trial, representing a recruitment success of 76.4% (84/110) from the planned sample size target. Among those, a minority (3.6%) were recruited using Facebook. Those mothers presented similar sociodemographic characteristics to those recruited using traditional methods. Retention rates were 73.8% and 66.7% at 6 and 12 months, respectively, with similar rates between mothers recruited using Facebook and traditional methods. Various challenges associated with population retention were highlighted with lack of time being mothers' main reason for withdrawing from the study.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodological challenges experienced during the conduct of the blog-delivered healthy eating intervention allowed to draw upon several lessons regarding the recruitment process and the retention of mothers of preschoolers and school-aged children to inform future social media-delivered research. Recommendations for future research include exploring mothers' perceptions and preferences to tailor social media recruitment, ensure that interventions are delivered to them using social media platforms that are already integrated into their routine, and are providing remote outcome assessments to increase participant retention.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinical Trial Protocol NCT03156803 . Registered on 17 May 2017, retrospectively registered.

Long-term effects of a healthy eating blog in mothers and children

In the context of low consumption of vegetables and fruits and milk and alternatives among Canadian mothers and children, novel strategies are needed to improve maternal and child nutrition. This study evaluated the long‐term effects of an evidence‐informed healthy eating blog on dietary intakes and food‐related behaviours of mothers and their child. The study presents a secondary outcome analysis of a randomised controlled trial in which 84 mothers (mean age of 37.6 ± 6.7 years) of 2‐ to 12‐year‐old children living in Quebec City, Canada, were randomly assigned to a dietary intervention delivered through a healthy eating blog written by a registered dietitian (RD; n = 42) or a control group (n = 42) during a period of 6 months. Dietary intakes, maternal eating behaviours, food parenting practices, and body weight were measured at baseline, 3 months, at the end of the intervention (6 months), and 6‐month post‐intervention (12 months). Differences between groups were assessed with mixed linear models. Globally, this study found no evidence of long‐term differences in mean dietary intakes in mothers exposed to the blog and their children as well as other food‐related outcomes and body weight compared with the control condition. Potential predictors of adherence to dietary recommendations in mothers and children (e.g., involvement of children in household food activities) were identified. In conclusion, a healthy eating blog written by an RD did not result in evidence of any long‐term differences in dietary intakes and food‐related behaviours in mothers and their children compared with the control condition.