Abstract
Increasing the insufficient intake of vegetables in children may be difficult, due to the influence of parents and at-home accessibility. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between self-reported vegetable consumption behaviors and preferences of mothers and the behaviors and preferences of their children, as declared by them. The nationally representative Polish (n = 1200) and Romanian (n = 1157) samples of mothers of children aged 3–10 were obtained using the random quota sampling method, and interviewed for their and their children’s general frequency of consumption and preferences of vegetables in years 2012–2014. A 24 h dietary recall of vegetable consumption was conducted for mothers and their children. Associations were observed for general number of servings consumed per day by mother–child pairs (p < 0.0001; R = 0.6522, R = 0.6573 for Polish and Romanian samples, respectively) and number of types indicated as preferred (p < 0.0001; R = 0.5418, R = 0.5433). The share of children consuming specific vegetables was 33.1–75.3% and 42.6–75.7% while their mothers also consumed, but 0.1–43.2% and 1.2–22.9% while their mothers did not. The share of children preferring specific vegetables was 16.7–74.1% and 15.2–100% when their mother shared the preference, but 1.3–46.9% and 0–38.3% when their mother did not. The mothers’ vegetable consumption behaviors and preferences may be a factor limiting the possibility of increasing vegetable consumption in their children.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates regular consumption of vegetables and fruits as an important element of a child’s diet, in order to prevent non-communicable diet-related diseases, and to create beneficial dietary patterns that are commonly predictive of their adolescence and adulthood patterns [1]
The mothers’ vegetable consumption behaviors and preferences may be a factor limiting the possibility of increasing vegetable consumption in their children
A mother who declared she had more than one child aged 3–10 was asked to choose one of them arbitrarily and, afterwards, to inform about vegetable consumption behaviors and preferences of only this child during the whole interview
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates regular consumption of vegetables and fruits as an important element of a child’s diet, in order to prevent non-communicable diet-related diseases, and to create beneficial dietary patterns that are commonly predictive of their adolescence and adulthood patterns [1]. Nutrients 2019, 11, 1078 recommendations for fruits than for vegetables, so it is especially important to conduct interventions targeted at vegetables in order to increase their intake. The Cochrane systematic review by Hodder et al [6] indicated that some interventions may increase the intake of vegetables and fruits by children. Based on the analysis of consumption trends in 33 countries, it has been observed that the intake of vegetables and fruits is increasing in many countries [7]. The trend is not stable, as the Health Survey for England indicated an important decrease in the frequency of meeting the ‘5-a-day’ recommendation for children, from 20% to 17% between 2011 and 2013, even though an increase had been noted earlier [8]
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