Influence of family parenting style on the formation of eating behaviors and habits in preschool children: The mediating role of quality of life and nutritional knowledge

To provide empirical support for understanding the effects of different family parenting styles on the development of preschool children's eating habits and to promote healthy child development. Using a randomized whole-group sampling method, full-time public kindergartens in three regions of China were selected as the study population of preschool children, and 1141 children's guardians in these regions were surveyed and evaluated. It was used to examine the differential effects of different family parenting styles (EMBU) on preschool children's eating behavior (CEBQ), while quality of survival (QLSCA) and nutritional literacy (NLS) played a mediating role in the process. The results showed that at the direct effect level, authoritative, authoritarian, coddling, and neglectful family parenting styles had significant effects on preschool children's eating behavior (-0.161 ≤ β ≤ 0.232, p < 0.05); at the indirect effect level, family survival quality (QLSCA), and nutritional literacy (NLS) under the influence of different family parenting styles (EMBU) on children's eating the total indirect effect was [OR] 0.273, 95%: CI 0.181-0.368. It is evident that it is imperative to develop good eating behaviors in children at preschool age.

Scoping review of food safety at transport stations in Africa

OBJECTIVE

The WHO has declared food safety as a public health concern. Transport hubs such as taxi ranks, bus stations and other transport exchange sites are major food trading/purchasing sites, particularly in Africa. Research evidence is needed to improve food safety policies and ensure consumption of safe food, owing to the increasing burden of foodborne diseases, particularly in the WHO Africa Region. We systematically mapped and described research evidence on food safety at transport stations in Africa.

DESIGN

A scoping review guided by the Arksey and O'Malley framework.

DATA SOURCES

We searched for original research articles in PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (Academic search complete, CINAHL with Full-text and Health Source), SCOPUS, and Google Scholar from their inception to 25 October 2020.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES

We included studies that focused on food safety, involved transport stations, involved African countries and were published in English.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Data extraction was performed by two reviewers using a piloted-tested form. Thematic analysis was used to organise the data into themes and subthemes, and a narrative summary of the findings is presented.

RESULTS

Of the total 23 852 articles obtained from the database searches, 16 studies published in 6 countries met the inclusion criteria. These 16 studies were published between 1997 and 2019, with the most (5) in 2014. Of the 16 studies, 43.8% (7) were conducted in South Africa, 3 studies in Ghana, 2 in Ethiopia and 1 study each in Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho and Zambia. Most (44.4%) of the included studies focused on microbial safety of food; few studies (22.2%) focused on hygienic practices, and one study investigated the perspective of consumers or buyers. Microbes detected in the foods samples were Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp, Bacillus sp, Staphylococcus aureus, which resulted mainly from poor hygiene practices.

CONCLUSIONS

There is limited research that focused on food safety at transport stations in Africa, especially on aspects such as hygiene practices, food storage and occupational health and food safety. Therefore, we recommend more research in these areas, using various primary study designs, to inform and improve food safety policies and practices for transport stations in African countries alongside improving access to clean water/handwashing facilities, and undertaking structural changes to facilitate behaviours and monitoring for unintended consequences such as livelihoods of vulnerable populations.

Electrohydrodynamic drying: Can we scale-up the technology to make dried fruits and vegetables more nutritious and appealing?

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying is a promising technology to better preserve the nutritional content and sensory appeal of dried fruits and vegetables. To successfully scale up this technology, we need to rethink the current EHD dryer designs. There is also a significant potential to further enhance the nutritional content and sensory quality of the dried products by optimizing EHD process parameters. This study particularly highlights the current bottlenecks in scaling up the technology and improving nutrient retention and sensory appeal of the dried products. We discuss plausible future pathways to further develop the technology to produce highly nutritious dried products. Particular emphasis has been given to quantifying the residual nutritional and sensory properties of EHD dried products, and possible EHD dryer configurations for farmers and the industry. Concerning the nutritional content, EHD drying preserves vitamins, carotenes, and antioxidants significantly better than convective air drying. From the sensory perspective, EHD drying enhances the color of dried products, as well as their general appearance. With respect to scalability, placing the fruit on a grounded mesh electrode dries the fruit much faster and more uniformly than the grounded plate electrode. Future research should be directed toward simultaneous measurements of multiple food nutrients and sensory properties during EHD drying with a grounded mesh collector. Quantifying the impact of the food loading density on drying kinetics and energy consumption of the EHD drying process should also be a future research goal. Research comparing EHD drying with commercially available drying methods such as freeze-drying, microwave-drying, and infrared drying should also be carried out. This study gives promising insight toward developing a scalable novel thermal drying technology tailored to the requirements of the current and future society.

Preschoolers will drink their GREENS! Children accept, like, and drink novel smoothies containing dark green vegetables (DGVs)

Dark green vegetables (DGVs; e.g., spinach) are a nutrient rich source of essential vitamins and minerals; yet, children's intakes of DGVs fall well below dietary recommendations and creative solutions are needed. This study describes preschoolers (3-5 y) willingness to taste, liking, and intake of fruit-based smoothies containing DGVs (i.e., spinach, collards, kale), commonly referred to as "green smoothies," and explores individual differences in children's eating responses. Using a between-subjects design, preschoolers were randomized to either a FRUIT ONLY smoothie condition (n = 36) or FRUIT+DGV smoothie condition (n = 32). Children's acceptance and intake were collected in one tasting session and one ad libitum snack session, respectively. Parents reported on child food pickiness, food responsiveness, and approach, and children's intake of fruits and DGVs. Children self-reported on previous experience with the study fruits and DGVs. The initial tasting session revealed that the majority of children (84.3%) in the FRUIT+DGV condition willingly tasted all five green smoothies and rated the green smoothies as moderately liked (2.3 ± 0.1). Children in the FRUIT+DGV condition consumed 225.7 ± 31.4 g (9.0 ± 1.3 oz; 1.1 ± 0.2 cups; 91.9 ± 12.9 kcals) of their most preferred green smoothie, providing 18.3 ± 3.7 g (or 0.7 ± 0.1 cups) of DGVs. Children's willingness to try, liking, and intake did not differ by smoothie condition. Individual differences in children's intake are reported. In conclusion, children were willing to try fruit smoothies supplemented with DGVs. Children rated the green smoothies as moderately-liked and children's intake during snack met 31% of their weekly USDA recommendations for DGVs. Adding DGVs to fruit-based smoothies may compliment other effective feeding strategies for increasing children's vegetable consumption.

Hygiene and Eating Healthy Habits and Practices in Spanish Families with Children Aged 6 to 14

During childhood and pre-adolescence, the family environment is key to initiating and consolidating healthy styles in children through a balanced diet and basic hygiene habits. This study analyses hygiene, nutrition and health practices in Spanish families with children between 6 and 14 years of age according to the type of family (nuclear, single-parent or reconstituted) and the quantity, age and gender of the children. A representative Spanish national sample of 1103 Spanish parents, 270 fathers and 833 mothers, with children aged 6 to 14, is analysed. The study is descriptive, using statistical techniques with classic indicators (means, percentages). The results show that nuclear families manifest healthier habits, in general, and consider the consumption of pastries, ultra-processed food and excessive amounts of salt to be harmful. Furthermore, this family typology develops healthy and hygienic habits, such as brushing teeth daily, sleeping at least 8 h a day, drinking a glass of milk a day, eating fish more than once a week and eating fast food sporadically. They are also concerned about their children’s annual medical check-ups (paediatrician and dentist). It is concluded that the family type is related to the hygiene and feeding habits of the children.

Nutrition Knowledge and Perspectives of Physical Activity for Pre-Schoolers amongst Early Childhood Education and Care Teachers

Caregivers’ nutrition and physical activity knowledge is recognised as being important for children’s health and body size. Identifying knowledge gaps amongst caregivers may inform professional development and obesity-prevention strategies in childcare settings. This cross-sectional validated online questionnaire aimed to measure current early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers’ nutrition knowledge for pre-schoolers (2–5-year-olds) and related perspectives. Teachers’ (n = 386) knowledge of nutrition was lacking: The overall score was 22.56 ± 2.83 (mean ± SD), or 61% correct. Increased years of experience significantly predicted an increase in knowing that national nutrition and physical activity guidelines exist (B = 0.02 [95% CI, 0.00–0.03], r² = 0.13, p = 0.033). Teachers’ increased agreement in feeling they were confident talking about nutrition to parents significantly predicted an increase in overall nutrition knowledge scores (B = 0.34 [95% CI, 0.06–0.63], r² = 0.15, p = 0.019). The belief that ECEC teachers play a vital role in promoting pre-schoolers’ healthy eating and physical activity was widespread. Common knowledge barriers included a lack of staff training, confidence, and resources. ECEC teachers may lack nutrition knowledge for pre-schoolers, particularly in regard to basic nutrition recommendations (servings, food/beverage choices, and portion sizes).

"Moving Toward Healthy": Insights Into Food Choices of Mothers in Residential Recovery

This study utilized participatory and potentially empowering qualitative research methods of photo-elicitation and face-to-face interviews to investigate food choices of mothers living with their children in a residential substance use disorder recovery program. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with nine women (25–40 years) living in a residential substance use disorder recovery program in the Southeastern United States. Each audio recorded and transcribed interview was coded individually before collectively developing a consensual version of the codebook and identifying themes. The recovering women in this study expressed a new or renewed desire to “eat healthy” and voiced concerns about the nutritional value of foods. Food choices were influenced by their children’s nutritional needs and food preferences, their own food preferences and habits, the financial resources available to them, their personal food preparation self-efficacy and skills, and the limitations inherent in residential recovery. Understanding food choices benefits both recovering parents and their children.

Predisposing, facilitating and reinforcing factors of healthy and unhealthy food consumption in schoolchildren: a study in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Objective:

African schoolchildren’s dietary habits are likely changing in the realm of the nutrition transition, particularly in urban areas, but data on their diet and on determinants are scanty. In order to design relevant interventions for this priority target group, the study aimed to assess food habits and their determinants in schoolchildren of Ouagadougou.

Methods:

In a cross-sectional survey, fifth-grade schoolchildren filled during school hours a questionnaire to assess consumption frequency of ‘healthy’ foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, legumes) and ‘unhealthy’ (superfluous) items (cake, cookies, candies, ice, soda) and underlying factors, using Green’s PRECEDE model.

Results:

The study included 769 schoolchildren, mean age 11.7 ± 1.4 years, from eight public and four private schools. Consumption scores of unhealthy items were significantly higher than healthy foods ( p = 0.001). During the week prior to the survey, 25% of children had eaten no fruit, 20% no meat, 20% no legumes, 17% no fish and 17% no vegetables. While less than 4% ate fruits or vegetables every day, 18.3% ate ice pop every day. Children eating cookies, cakes and candy every day were up to seven-fold those eating fruits, vegetables or legumes. Compared to public-school pupils, those from private schools consumed both healthy and unhealthy items more frequently ( p = 0.002 and p = 0.007, respectively). Urban schoolchildren had significantly higher unhealthy food scores ( p = 0.027) compared to peri-urban schools. Children’s healthy and unhealthy food consumption was primarily explained by perceived decisional power and availability [facilitating factors] for both types of foods, and maternal reinforcement for healthy foods and peers’ reinforcement for consumption of unhealthy items. Overall, facilitating factors rated higher for unhealthy than healthy foods.

Conclusion:

The study showed that city schoolchildren’s eating behaviours are far from optimal. Nutrition interventions should be tailored to address the underlying factors in order to impact on behaviours, thereby preventing both dietary inadequacies and excess.

Differences in food supplies of U.S. households with and without overweight individuals

Household food supplies of families with at least one child 12 years or younger (n=100) were inventoried in order to describe its nutrient content and compare food supplies of families with and without overweight individuals (i.e., healthy vs. overweight mothers; healthy vs. overweight fathers; healthy vs. overweight child[ren]). Nutrient adequacy ratios (NAR) for carbohydrate, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, total fat, and saturated fat were approximately one indicating amounts available per 2000 calories approximately equaled the Daily Value. NARs for protein, sugar, vitamin A, vitamin C, and sodium exceeded one and cholesterol NAR was less than one. Households were similar in number of household members, days until they planned to grocery shop again, and total days of meals and snacks to be served from household food supplies until the next grocery shopping trip. Frozen vegetables contributed significantly greater amounts of calories, carbohydrates, fat, and protein and meat supplied significantly more fat and protein in households with overweight fathers than in households with healthy weight fathers. In households with an overweight child, grains supplied significantly more protein and carbohydrate than in comparison households. Encouraging healthful changes to the home food supply may result in improvements in dietary intake and overall weight status.

Dietary Considerations for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity in Youth

The global rise of obesity in children has raised serious concern for their current and future health and well-being. The prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent obesity must encompass all aspects of a child's life, including home, school, and other settings. A multidisciplinary approach is critical, including physical activity, behavioral factors, and proper dietary habits. Age-appropriate nutrition education and role modeling from adults in children's lives can be important in promoting lifelong healthy eating. Foods to emphasize include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and lean sources of protein. Foods and beverages with low nutrient density and high energy density should be consumed in moderation, within a child's discretionary calorie allowance. The overall diet must support proper growth, health, development, academic achievement, and well-being without supplying excess energy beyond needs.

Back-to-School Nutrition

Back-to-school season can be an important time for enhancing dietary quality, which is vital to chil- dren's health and wellness. An abun- dance of scientific literature supports a critical role of proper nutrition in cognitive development, intellectual performance, and academic achieve- ment. Improvement of nutrient intakes for children with inadequa- cies enhances mental functioning. Iron deficiency, which is the most common nutrient deficiency in the United States, has been implicated in poor cognition, and supplementation for iron-deficient children improves most scholastically related outcomes. School breakfast and lunch pro- grams, which must adhere to the 2005 US Dietary Guidelines, offer a means to improve nutritional intake, particularly for children of low socio- economic status. However, competing food and beverage sources, as well as refusal to consume healthful items of these meals, may reduce dietary advantages. Breakfast consumption is associated with many benefits in schoolchildren, including academic performance. Wholesome lunches and snacks can also be significant contributors to nutritional value over the course of a school day. Parents, teachers, and caregivers should be role models and advocates for health- promoting eating behaviors not only throughout the academic year but for a lifetime