Choosing foods for infants: a qualitative study of the factors that influence mothers

BACKGROUND

Examining the experiences of parents making food choices for infants is important because ultimately this influences what infants eat. Infancy is a critical period when food preferences and eating behaviour begin to develop, shaping dietary patterns, growth and health outcomes. There is limited evidence regarding what or why foods are chosen for infants.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the experiences of mothers making food choices for their infant children.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews with 32 Australian mothers of infants aged four to 15 months from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. An inductive thematic analysis through a process of constant comparison was conducted on transcribed interviews.

RESULTS

Mothers described many ideas and circumstances which influenced food choices they made for infants. Themes were developed which encapsulate how the wider environment and individual circumstances combine to result in the food choices made for infants. Beliefs, values, norms and knowledge were a central influence on choices. Cost, quality and availabilities of various foods were also key factors. Related to this, and combined with inherent factors such as perishability and infant acceptability, fresh fruits and vegetables were often singled out as an easy or difficult choice. Influences of time, parents' capacities, social connections and different information sources were clearly apparent. Finally infants' own preferences and how parents helped infants with learning to eat were also key influences on food choices.

CONCLUSIONS

Choosing foods for infants is a complex social practice. An ecological framework depicting the multiple influences on what people eat and sociological theory on food choice regarding the role of 'social structure' and 'human agency' are both applicable to the process of choosing foods for infants. Equity issues may be key regarding the degree to which mothers can choose particular foods for infants (e.g. choosing foods which promote health).

An exploration of the views of Australian mothers on promoting child oral health

BACKGROUND

An important role for parents and caregivers in the prevention of dental caries in children is the early establishment of health promoting behaviours. This study aimed to examine mothers' views on barriers and facilitators to promoting child and family oral health.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of mothers (n = 32) of young children. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

Parental knowledge and beliefs, past experiences and child behaviour emerged as major influences on children's oral health. Child temperament and parental time pressures were identified as barriers to good oral health with various strategies reported for dealing with uncooperative children at toothbrushing time. Parental oral health knowledge and beliefs emerged as positive influences on child oral health; however, while most mothers were aware of the common causes of dental caries, very few knew of other risk factors such as bedtime feeding. Parents' own oral health experiences were also seen to positively influence child oral health, regardless of whether these were positive or negative experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding parental oral health beliefs is essential to overcoming barriers and promoting enablers for good child oral health. Improving child oral health also requires consideration of child behaviour, family influences, and increasing awareness of lesser-known influencing factors.

Large reductions in child overweight and obesity in intervention and comparison communities 3 years after a community project

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

Childhood obesity has been increasing over decades and scalable, population-wide solutions are urgently needed to reverse this trend. Evidence is emerging that community-based approaches can reduce unhealthy weight gain in children. In some countries, such as Australia, the prevalence of childhood obesity appears to be flattening, suggesting that some population-wide changes may be underway.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

A community-based intervention project for obesity prevention in a rural town appears to have increasing effects 3 years after the end of the project, substantially reducing overweight and obesity by 6% points in new cohorts of children, 6 years after the original baseline. An apparent and unanticipated 'spillover' of effects into the surrounding region appeared to have occurred with 10%-point reductions in childhood overweight and obesity over the same time period. A 'viral-like' spread of obesity prevention efforts may be becoming possible and an increase in endogenous community activities appears to be surprisingly successful in reducing childhood obesity prevalence.

BACKGROUND

The long-term evaluations of community-based childhood obesity prevention interventions are needed to determine their sustainability and scalability.

OBJECTIVES

To measure the impacts of the successful Be Active Eat Well (BAEW) programme in Victoria, Australia (2003-2006), 3 years after the programme finished (2009).

METHODS

A serial cross-sectional study of children in six intervention and 10 comparison primary schools in 2003 (n = 1674, response rate 47%) and 2009 (n = 1281, response rate 37%). Height, weight, lunch box audits, self-reported behaviours and economic investment in obesity prevention were measured.

RESULTS

Compared with 2003, the 2009 prevalence of overweight/obesity (World Health Organization criteria) was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in both intervention (39.2% vs. 32.8%) and comparison (39.6% vs. 29.1%) areas, as was the mean standardized body mass index (0.79 vs. 0.65, 0.77 vs. 0.57, respectively) with no significant differences between areas. Some behaviours improved and a few deteriorated with any group differences favouring the comparison area. In 2009, the investment in obesity prevention in intervention schools was about 30 000 Australian dollars (AUD) per school per year, less than half the amount during BAEW. By contrast, the comparison schools increased from a very low base to over 66 000 AUD per school per year in 2009.

CONCLUSIONS

The 8%-point reduction in overweight/obesity in both areas over 6 years from baseline to 3 years post-intervention was substantial. While the benefits of BAEW increased in the intervention community in the long term, the surrounding communities appeared to have more than caught up in programme investments and health gains, suggesting a possible 'viral spread' of obesity prevention actions across the wider region.