Abstract
This study describes differences in considerations and value conflicts between mothers living in the North and the South of Italy during snack provision to their 2–7 years old children. Semi-structured interviews with 20 mothers living in the North and 20 mothers living in the South of Italy were conducted. Participants matched on educational level and weight status. Mothers’ considerations in snack provision were grouped into four key themes: health-related, child-related, time-related, and product-related. North Italian mothers showed more health-related considerations while providing a snack compared to mothers living in the South. In case mothers from the South mentioned healthiness as a consideration, it was often related to giving energy. The child-related key theme revealed that a snack needs to be liked by the child, otherwise Italian mothers do not provide it. For the time-related key theme, differences were small between North and South Italian mothers. The product-related key theme showed the brand to be more important for South Italian mothers. Mothers from the North of Italy experienced more value conflicts, all related to health. The current studied showed that even within the same country, geographical differences in mothers’ considerations and value conflicts for providing snacks exist. This implies that snack choice, considerations and values seem to be influenced by tradition and family culture.
Highlights
Over the last decades, childhood obesity has been increasing in the United States and in Europe (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014; Wijnhoven et al, 2014)
When obese or overweight children become adults, there is a higher chance that their weight problems remain (Singh, Mulder, Twisk, Van Mechelen, & Chinapaw, 2008) which could lead to health problems, later in life as considered by Reilly and Kelly (2011), Tyson and Frank (2018) and Flodmark (2018)
Mothers prefer to make healthy food choices for their children (Carnell, Cooke, Cheng, Robbins, & Wardle, 2011; Damen, Luning, Fogliano, & Steenbekkers, 2019; Johnson, Sharkey, Dean, Alex McIntosh, & Kubena, 2011; Machín, Giménez, Curutchet, Martínez, & Ares, 2016; Walsh et al, 2015) as well as choices preferred by their children (Boak et al, 2016; Damen, Luning, et al, 2019; Meers, Domoff, LeRoy, Holt, & Musher-Eizenman, 2016; Russell, Worsley, & Liem, 2015; Wijtzes et al, 2017)
Summary
Childhood obesity has been increasing in the United States and in Europe (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014; Wijnhoven et al, 2014). In Italy, overweight and obesity among children are highly prevalent too (Lauria, Spinelli, Buoncristiano, & Nardone, 2019; Spinelli et al, 2019; Wijnhoven et al, 2013) and show striking differences between the North and the South of the country (Nardone et al, 2018). Several studies reported the prevalence of overweight and obesity to be higher in the South compared to the North of Italy (Brunello & Labartino, 2014; Gallus et al, 2013; Mancini, Marchini, & Simeone, 2016). The contribution of frequent intake of energy-dense snacks by children (Dunford & Popkin, 2018; Larson & Story, 2013) on the development of childhood overweight has been often quoted (Boots, Tiggemann, Corsini, & Mattiske, 2015; Fisher et al, 2015; Pearson, Ball, & Crawford, 2011; Piernas & Popkin, 2010). Even though the role of fathers is becoming more prominent in food choice over the last years (Fielding-Singh, 2017; Khandpur, Blaine, Fisher, & Davison, 2014), outcomes
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