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Abstract
The present study asked parents of preschool-aged children from differing socioeconomic groups to complete a questionnaire regarding the frequency of specific behaviors that comprise the food environment. Participants were 94 mothers of preschool-age children who attended either Day Care (middle-income) or Head Start (low-income) programs. Many of the items tested showed similar characteristics for the food environment between the Head Start and Day Care centers, including the frequency that children were involved in meal preparation, the frequency that children were encouraged to finish the food on their plate, the frequency that a parent ate a meal at the table with the child, and the frequency of opportunities to try foods that the parents disliked themselves. Relative to the Head Start children, however, children attending Day Care were more restricted from eating desserts and salty snacks, more encouraged to try new foods, and more often consumed breakfast. Aside from characteristics of the food environment, children in Day Care spent more minutes in outdoor play and slept nearly an hour more each night, while those who attended Head Start spent more time watching television and playing video games. It is recommended that families make a better effort to create an optimal food environment for their children.
Highlights
As primary socializing agents, parents play an important role in the development of their children’s obesogenicHow to cite this paper: Nowlin, E
They are responsible for raising and feeding their children, educating their children about nutrition, and providing the food available for their children to consume. The food environment they provide should expose children to new foods on numerous occasions and allow them to choose some of their own food, practices that have been shown to encourage healthy eating (Benton, 2004)
Sweets and salty snacks were restricted by Day Care mothers more often than by Head Start mothers, the latter obviously did occasional restricting (Recall that ratings of 1, 2, and 3, respectively, represented “sometimes,” “often,” and “usually”)
Summary
Parents play an important role in the development of their children’s obesogenic. Andaya, Arredondo, Alcaraz, Lindsay and Elder (2011) reported that Latino children who ate breakfast as a family had an increased intake of fruit and vegetables, while eating away from the television provided greater benefits due to decreased consumption of junk food and soda. These results suggest that the family meal need not refer exclusively to dinner. Since income usually co-varies with education in determining socioeconomic status (Liberatos, Link, & Kelsey, 1988), it was expected that the middle-income families would report feeding practices more in line with a less controlling style (e.g., less pressuring) and better nutrition (e.g., eating breakfast), as well as encouraging physical activity (e.g., less TV watching)
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