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Arora A, Chew L, Kang K, Tang L, Estai M, Thepsourinthone J, Chandio N, Parmar J, Doyizode AM, Jain K. V, Bhole S. Diet, Nutrition, and Oral Health: What Influences Mother's Decisions on What to Feed Their Young Children? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:8159. [PMID: 34360452 PMCID: PMC8345989 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18158159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to learn about mothers' experiences with food choices for their pre-school children in underprivileged communities in Greater Western Sydney (GWS). A total of 20 mother-child dyads living in GWS were recruited to a qualitative study from an ongoing birth cohort study. Participants' houses were visited for semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. The interviews yielded five main themes: (i) food choices, nutrition, and health; (ii) accessibility and availability of foods (iii) buying time for parents; (iv) child's age and their preference on food choices; (v) conditioning certain behaviours by family and cultural factors. Nutrition literacy, child's preferences, unhealthy food intake by family members, child's demand, advertising and availability of harmful foods, and time constraints were all mentioned as hurdles to mothers making appropriate meal choices for their children. However, some identified facilitators were promoting parents' knowledge, increasing access to health educational materials, upskilling mothers to providing healthier alternatives, regulating the marketing of unhealth foods. Although, the present study identified critical factors that influence mothers' food choices for their young children, making healthy food choices is a complex practice as it is shaped by individual, social and environmental influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Arora
- Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; (J.T.); (N.C.); (J.P.); (A.M.D.)
- Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
- Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
- Oral Health Services, Sydney Dental Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, NSW Health, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia;
| | - Louise Chew
- Sydney Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia; (L.C.); (K.K.); (L.T.)
| | - Kaye Kang
- Sydney Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia; (L.C.); (K.K.); (L.T.)
| | - Lily Tang
- Sydney Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia; (L.C.); (K.K.); (L.T.)
| | - Mohamed Estai
- Australian eHealth Research Centre, CSIRO, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia;
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Jack Thepsourinthone
- Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; (J.T.); (N.C.); (J.P.); (A.M.D.)
- Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Navira Chandio
- Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; (J.T.); (N.C.); (J.P.); (A.M.D.)
- Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Jinal Parmar
- Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; (J.T.); (N.C.); (J.P.); (A.M.D.)
- Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Ashish M. Doyizode
- Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; (J.T.); (N.C.); (J.P.); (A.M.D.)
- Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Vipin Jain K.
- Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE’s Institute of Dental Sciences, Bangalore 560022, India;
| | - Sameer Bhole
- Oral Health Services, Sydney Dental Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, NSW Health, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia;
- Sydney Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia; (L.C.); (K.K.); (L.T.)
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