Abstract
Children’s eating habits are closely related to their health problems and the outlook for children’s nutritional statuses appears poor. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents of preschool children from December 2018 to January 2019. Sixteen representative kindergartens in 6 districts of Chongqing, China, were included in the study. We took 2200 samples and collected information by questionnaire and after screening, 1781 questionnaires were valid and finally included in the data analysis (n = 1781). Ordinal logistic regression analysis found that age, fathers’ education level, forced diet and perception of children’s body shape were factors associated with children’s eating behaviors (ordered logistic regression/three-level eating behavior; odds ratios p < 0.05). 80.24% of preschool children may have unhealthy eating behavior in this survey and 80.35% of parents had forced their children to eat. Eating behaviors of preschool children in Chongqing are closely related to family factors. This study provides important insight for parents and health care workers in China to improve preschool-aged children’s nutritional behaviors. Intervention programs should focus on parents with low income, low education levels, coercive dietary behaviors and deviated body shape perceptions to reduce children’s eating behavioral problems.
Highlights
Lifelong eating habits are associated with early childhood eating behaviors [1]
Previous surveys have shown that the incidence of dietary behavioral problems among preschool children in China ranges from 39.7–65.1% [8]
It was reported that the prevalence of eating behavior problems of preschool children reached 79.6% in Chengdu, China [24], which is similar to our study
Summary
Lifelong eating habits are associated with early childhood eating behaviors [1]. In early childhood, eating behavior undergoes significant changes. Evidence shows that children’s dietary behaviors are formed at the end of preschool and remain stable after school age [2]. If unhealthy eating behavior goes uncorrected during the critical period when children’s behavioral habits are developing and forming, their lifelong health will be negatively affected [3,4]. Eating behavioral problems mainly include avoidance of food, irritability [5], prolonged eating time and pickiness [6]. The incidence of eating behavior problems in children
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
