Nutrition Education For Parents Research Articles

Ahabat Terbaik Anak Application (Nutritional Information for Children Stunting Prevention in the first 1000 days based on Android) using the Waterfall Method

This research aims to help the community in providing information on good nutritional intake to children. By using this application, it is hoped that the community can monitor and optimize children's growth during the first 1000 days, with a focus on stunting prevention. This Sahabat Terbaik Anak app (information about the importance of good nutrition and helps in monitoring children's growth) uses a waterfall model. The system includes an Android mobile app, which allows users to search for articles about children's growth and development according to the month and efficiency while traveling. The four phases of this system are data collection, design, implementation, and testing. The system provides an easy-to-use interface to provide nutrition monitoring, physical growth, and education for parents on the importance of balanced nutritional intake. Children's friends can provide solutions to reduce stunting in children.

The impact of web-based education provided to parents on the nutritional risk of preschoolers: A quasi-experimental study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of web-based nutrition education for parents of preschool children in reducing nutritional risk. The study was conducted in a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. Parents of 3-5-year-old children from 11 preschools in Istanbul participated. They underwent a web-based nutrition education program. The NutriSTEP assessment tool was used to evaluate the nutritional risk score as a pretest assessment, followed by the training program. Posttests were conducted at 1- and 3-month intervals. Before the intervention, 55.8% of the children exhibited high nutritional risk. After the intervention, this percentage decreased significantly at the 1-month and 3-month follow-ups, with 94.2% and 93.6% of the children classified as low risk, respectively. The analysis also revealed significant associations between children's eating behaviours and factors such as maternal education, family income and family structure. As a result, web-based nutrition education was effective in reducing nutritional risk among preschool children. The findings underscore the importance of using technology for nutrition interventions, especially in diverse populations. The training program's simple, short and understandable video increased participants' interest in the training and encouraged regular follow-up.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Wasting among Children Aged 6 – 59 Months in Deynile, Banadir Somalia.

Background Undernutrition is a significant public health issue and a crucial health indicator for assessing the nutritional status and survival of children under five in many underdeveloped nations worldwide. Purpose: This study aims to determine the prevalence of Undernutrition wasting among children aged 6- 59 months. Method: A cross-sectional study design was carried out for children aged 6-59 months and a structured questionnaire was administered, and data was collected. Result: The Prevalence factors of undernutrition in 6–59-month-old children. The aged 6-11 months since they registered the highest percentage of children below 11.5cm (14.9%). The age of 12-23 had the highest amount of wasted children. Older children (24–59 months) had a lower chance of wasting and MUAC<125 mm. The results indicated that 48.2% of the study population was wasted and 52.86% were malnourished. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study; Exclusive breastfeeding should be promoted among mothers for the first six months of life and continue breastfeeding alongside appropriate complementary feeding; Nutrition counseling and education for parents and caregivers.

Fruit and vegetable consumption among young school children in Pokhara, Kaski: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Low intake of fruit and vegetable (F&V) increased the risk of non-communicable diseases, followed by disability and death. The fact that many diseases in adulthood have their origins in habits formed during childhood is undeniable. Therefore, the study assessed the prevalence of fruit and vegetable consumption among young schoolchildren aged 5 to 9 years. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 352 children from March 8 to September 4, 2020. The multistage sampling method was used to select samples. A face-to-face interview was done with one of the parents at their home. Univariate and bivariate analyses were computed at a 5% level of significance. Ethical approval was obtained from the Nepal Health Research Council. Results: Out of 352 children, none of the children met the WHO recommendation of F&V of ≥5 servings per day. Around two percentage (2.30%) of children consumed neither fruits nor vegetables, while only 46(13%) had taken F&V at least three servings per day. Children’s higher F&V intake was found to be associated with family monthly income, parents’ higher education, the presence of a fruit and vegetable shop nearby, and giving money to children. Conclusions: Intake of F&V as compared to the recommendation was very low in the study area. This requires an immediate response including nutrition education for parents, teachers, and decision-makers and increasing easy access to F&V.

Micronutrient Intakes and the Health Implications Among Displaced Adolescents in Kogi State

The study examined micronutrient intakes and the health implications among adolescents in Edo State. There were three specific objectives and hypotheses. This study adopted a survey design. The population of the study comprised all the 725 adolescents who were displaced and settled in the IDP camps in Kogi State. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 adolescents (50 boys and 50 girls). The instrument for this study was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher titled, “Micronutrient Intake Questionnaire (MIQ) which had a category of four point rating scale ranging from Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD). The mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17. Some of the findings are that: the adolescentshad low awareness on how if vitamins are vital for energy and immune functions; fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins; they consumed less meat and fish; and took inadequate milk and green vegetables; while ways to promote access to nutrients include providing adequate nutrition education for parents; economic empowerment for parents. Among the recommendations are that families should be empowered by government and relevant agencies for economic self-reliance in order to be economically stable to provide their children with essential micronutrients, and nutrition education should be made available to parents and other caregivers responsible for adolescent and other children’s feeding.

Nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in the post COVID-19 era: a qualitative study.

In the United States, one in every 5 children is obese with greater likelihood in low-income households. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have accelerated disparities in child obesity risk factors, such as poor dietary intake and increased sedentary behaviors, among low-income families because of financial difficulties, social isolation and other struggles. This study reveals insights into nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in West Texas to better understand needs and develop interventions. In-depth individual interviews were performed via Zoom among 11 families of children under the age of 3. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to explore 3 areas: changes in (1) dietary intake and (2) sedentary behaviors and (3) families' preferences regarding a parent nutrition education program. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using MaxQDA software. Eating together as a family become challenging because of irregular work schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parents stated that their children's dietary habits shifted with an increased consumption of processed foods. Many parents are unable to afford healthful foods and have utilized food and nutrition assistance programs to help feed their families. All families reported that their children's screen time substantially increased compared to the pre-pandemic times. Moreover, the majority of parents did not associate child screen time with an obesity risk, so this area could be of particular interest for future interventions. Meal preparation ideas, remote modality, and early timing were identified as key intervention strategies. Online nutrition interventions that emphasize the guidelines for child screen time and regular meal routines will be effective and promising tools to reach low-income parents for early childhood health promotion and obesity prevention.

A mixed-method process evaluation of an East Midlands county summer 2021 holiday activities and food programme highlighting the views of programme co-ordinators, providers, and parents.

BackgroundThe Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme is a UK Government initiative created to alleviate food insecurity and promote health and well-being among children and their families, who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), during the school holidays. This process evaluation investigated factors that facilitated and acted as a barrier to the delivery of the HAF Programme from the perspectives of key stakeholders (Co-ordinators, Providers, and Parents) involved in the HAF Programme across an East Midlands county.MethodsThis evaluation utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating focus groups and online surveys to gain rich, multifaceted data. The focus groups were analyzed using a hybrid inductive-deductive thematic analysis and the online surveys were analyzed using mixed-methods approach due to the variation in question type (i.e., quantitative, Likert scale and open response) to align themes to the Government Aims and Standards of the HAF Programme.FindingsThe stakeholders highlighted several factors that facilitated and acted as a barrier to the delivery of the HAF Programme. Facilitating factors included existing and maintaining relationships between Co-ordinators, Providers, and facilities/schools/communities as this improved communication and attendance. Additionally, transport provision for those attending the Programme helped overcome barriers to attendance. The primary barrier of the Programme was the late awarding of the Programme contract as this limited the time available to prepare and organize the Programme. This in turn, had several “knock on” effects that created more barriers and resulted in some of the Government Aims and Standards not being met such as, nutrition education for children and parents. Despite the challenges faced, Co-ordinators and Providers were able to deliver the Programme and positively impact upon the children and their families that attended the Programme.ConclusionFollowing the facilitators and barriers that were highlighted in this evaluation, several recommendations have been made to enhance the delivery of the HAF Programme and ensure Government Aims and Standards, to improve children and family's health and well-being, are attained.

POSTERS CAN INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF VITAMINS IN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS IN TEENAGER

Vegetables and fruit in adolescents are useful to support their growth and development and good nutritional status. Knowledge is an important factor for the formation of one’s actions. There are various kinds of counseling media that can be done, one of which is poster media. This study aims to analyze the effect of giving poster media on increasing nutritional knowledge of junior high school teenagers. Methods : This study was a pre-experimental design with a pretest-posttest one group design. The research subjects were teenagers at Al-Bayan Muara Pawan, Ketapang regency. A total of 114 samples. Data analysis using Wilcoxon to see the difference in the effect of giving media before and after being given poster media. Research Results : There isi a difference in knowledge about the benefits of vitamins in vegetables before and after being given nutrition education using poster media for adolescents and There is a difference in knowledge about the benefits of vitamins in fruit before and after being given nutrition education using poster media for adolescents at the Al- Bayan Muara Pawan Islamic Boarding Schol, Ketapang Regency. Research suggestion : For Educational Institutions Media Poster can be used by multiplaying and spreading the poster where students pass or often gather so that the knowledge of islamic boarding school students can increase not only junior high school teenagers and for other researchers can conduct further research on other variables such as pocket money, physical activity and consumption behavior and nutrition education for parents.

P076 Eating and Weight Behaviors Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Weight Concerns: Parents’ Perspectives.

<h3>Background</h3> According to 2018 CDC data, approximately 1 in 44 children have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Children with ASDs have an increased propensity towards overweight and obesity due to limited diets and physical inactivity. High-quality research interventions to address obesity in this population are limited, and none have been informed by an intentional process to understand parent stresses and barriers to change surrounding meals and eating behaviors. <h3>Objective</h3> This qualitative study aimed to explore parents' perceptions of their autistic children's eating behaviors, weight, and the support they need from healthcare providers to improve their children's weight status. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> Participants in this study were recruited using criterion sampling from Texas. Semi-structured Zoom interviews were conducted with 10 parents of overweight/obese autistic children between the ages of 6-12 years. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim using NVivo Pro 12.0. Two trained coders independently analyzed transcripts using an open-coding and consensus-building approach for thematic analysis. <h3>Results</h3> Seven themes were identified: (1) Child's eating attitudes and behaviors; (2) Factors influencing child's nutrition knowledge and skills; (3) Meal planning and preparation; (4) Parental attitudes and experiences toward feeding; (5) Parental attitudes towards child's weight; (6) Parental distress; and (7) Possible Interventions. All parents reported feeding-related stress and many expressed feelings of helplessness to improve these behaviors. Parents also shared concerns related to behavioral regressions due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected their child's ongoing therapies. A multidisciplinary approach targeting individualized nutrition and feeding advice for their children was desired. A range of in-person and online interventions including cooking classes and parental vlogs was recommended. <h3>Conclusions</h3> This study supports the need for nutrition education for parents caring for autistic children and access to evidence-based, individualized approaches for their child's needs from physicians, dietitians, therapists, and other healthcare providers. Future research should be directed at developing interventions that support and educate parents in improving their child's nutritional and health needs and optimizing coping strategies in parents. <h3>Funding</h3> Texas Woman's University Research Enhancement Program

Pemberian makanan tambahan subtitusi tepung ikan gabus (PMT-tibus) dalam meningkatkan status gizi anak balita

Stunting is caused by inadequate nutrient intake in children and low parental knowledge, so it is necessary to provide additional food and nutrition education for parents. This study aims to determine the effect of providing supplementary food of snakehead fish flour substitution (called PMT-Tibus) on the nutritional status of children under five stunted. The study design used a randomized pretest-posttest control design. The study was conducted in Makassar City in 2019, using a sample of 24 people in each group. Group-1 was given PMT-Tibus with online nutrition education, while group-2 was only given online nutrition education. PMT-Tibus is given every day while the mother’s nutrition education is conducted periodically for one month. Nutritional status data was collected using anthropometric methods—processing and analyzing data using SPSS. WAZ of group-1 was increased by 0,11 ± 0,28. Otherwise, the WAZ of group-2 was decreased by -0,11 ± 0,42. HAZ of group-1 and group-2 increased (0,22 ± 0,31 vs 0,24 ± 0,31). WHZ of group-1 increased by 0,4 ± 0,04 and group-2 was decreased by -0,37 ± 0,68. There was a significant difference in WAZ and WHZ scores between the two groups, respectively, whit all p values &lt; 0,05. Snakehead fish flour-based supplementary feeding (PMT-Tibus) and online nutrition education can improve the nutritional status of WAZ and WHZ in stunted toddlers.

Family Food Environments and Their Association with Primary and Secondary Students' Food Consumption in Beijing, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Family is the most fundamental and proximal context for children, and children’s eating behavior occurs mostly in the home or together with family members. With this study, we aimed to evaluate the distribution of family food environment dimensions and their relationship with healthy and unhealthy food consumption in primary and secondary students in order to provide evidence in the Chinese context and explore environmental solutions for improved child nutrition. Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey among students in Beijing, China, from September 2020 to June 2021. Family food environment (FFE) was measured by the validated Family Food Environment Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children, which was self-administered by the children’s caregivers. The students were asked to answer questions about food consumption frequencies in the past 7 days. Binary logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationships between food consumption frequency and FFE, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed for independent variables. Among the study population, 9686 students in grades 3–12 and their caregivers completed the survey. The mean score of FFE was 65.7 (±8.4) out of a total possible score of 100, with 76.6% of students categorized as relatively healthier according to their FFE score (≥ 60). Compared with the reference group, students in primary schools and those cared for principally by parents were more likely to be in a healthy FFE category (p < 0.05). Daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was reported by 62.6% and 71.6% of students, respectively, and weekly sugared soft drink consumption was reported by 70.9% of the students. Students with a healthier FFE score (≥60) were more likely to consume fruits (OR = 1.578, 95% CI: 1.428~1.744) and vegetables (OR = 1.402, 95% CI: 1.263~1.556) but less likely to consume sugared soft drinks (OR = 0.592, 95% CI: 0.526~0.667). Family food availability (β = 0.137), caregivers’ nutritional literacy (β = 0.093), meal practices (β = 0.079) and food rules (β = 0.050) were positively correlated with food consumption behavior (p < 0.05). The students with healthier FFE scores (OR = 1.130, 95% CI: 1.014~1.258) and whose caregiver was obese (OR = 2.278, 95% CI: 1.973~2.631) were more likely to be overweight. The family food environment plays an important role in shaping food consumption in children. Provision of healthy foods instead of unhealthy foods, positive meal practices and food rules, and nutrition education for parents can promote healthy eating in children.

Parental perceptions of the food environment and their influence on food decisions among low-income families: a rapid review of qualitative evidence

BackgroundThe food environment within and surrounding homes influences family dietary habits with socio-economic areas at a nutritional disadvantage. Families’ perception of the food environment and how it influences their food decisions is less clear. This rapid review aimed to synthesise qualitative evidence of parental perspectives of the food environment and their influence on food decisions among disadvantaged families.MethodQualitative and mixed-methods peer-reviewed journal articles published after 2000, that explored the perspectives of low-income parents in relation to their food environment and how this impacted food decisions for families with children aged 2-17 years, were included in this review. Embase, Scopus and PsycINFO were the databases chosen for this review. Search strategies included seven concepts related to family, food, perceptions, influences, environment, socio-economic status and study type. Two independent reviewers screened sixty-four studies. Thematic synthesis was employed.ResultsTwo thousand one hundred and forty five results were identified through database searching and 1,650 were screened. Fourteen articles that originated from the US, Australia and the UK were included in this review. No articles were excluded following quality appraisal. Child preferences, financial and time constraints, and location and access to food outlets were barriers to accessing healthy food. Parental nutrition education and feeding approaches varied but positive outcomes from interventions to address these behaviours will be short-lived if inequities in health caused by poverty and access to affordable and healthy food are not addressed. The reliance on social support from families or government sources played an important role for families but are likely to be short-term solutions to health and nutritional inequities.ConclusionsThis qualitative evidence synthesis provides an insight into the perceptions of low-income parents on the factors influencing food decisions. Findings have implications for public health and the development of effective strategies to improve the dietary habits of children of disadvantaged families. Sustainable changes to dietary habits for families on low-income requires policy responses to low income, food access and to the high cost of healthy foods.

O33 Healthy Eating Perspectives and Food Literacy Needs of Parents Living with Food Insecurity

<h3>Background</h3> A healthy home depends on parents' health behaviors, nutrition knowledge, food literacy skills, and confidence in making healthy choices. Parents who lack these foundational skills are ill-equipped to model and encourage healthy family habits. Additionally, when parents also face economic barriers that limit food access while struggling with foundational food knowledge and skills, the ability to create a healthy home is diminished even further. Therefore, parental nutrition education programs delivered within an emergency food pantry (EFP) are valuable in targeting food insecure populations. Despite the value of nutrition education programs, little is known about parents' perspectives and barriers that influence their understanding and application of nutrition education to successfully provide a healthful home food environment. <h3>Objective</h3> To explore the barriers to, perspectives on, and nutrition education needs to support healthy eating identified by food-insecure parents within an EFP. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> In Spring 2019, a qualitative descriptive study was conducted using focus groups with low-income parents recruited from a parenting class run by Catholic Social Services in southeastern Pennsylvania. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data were analyzed using a constant comparative method. <h3>Results</h3> Nine parents participated in the focus group (2 males and 7 females). Most were under 40 years-of-age, high school graduates, received federal nutrition assistance, and experienced food insecurity. Four themes emerged: 1) Cooking Confidence Deficit; 2) Healthy Meal Preparation Barriers; 3) Healthy Meal Acceptance Barriers; and 4) Meal Planning, Management, and Adaptability. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Emergent themes support the notion that limited food literacy impairs parents' ability to meet personal and familial nutrition needs. These findings also emphasize the need to develop and evaluate comprehensive and population-specific food literacy programs to promote community health within EFP settings.

A 6-week healthy eating intervention with family engagement improves food knowledge and preferences but not dietary diversity among urban preschool children in Sri Lanka.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention (MCI) on children's dietary diversity and its impact pathway components of children's food knowledge and healthy food preferences. A 6-week cluster randomised controlled trial with a MCI consisting of child nutrition education plus family engagement through parental nutrition education, meal preparation and tasting was compared with two groups: single component intervention (SCI) of child nutrition education, and control, conducted during February to July 2018. Preschool centres were randomly assigned to one of the three arms. Children's food knowledge, healthy food preferences and dietary diversity scores were collected. Intervention effects were analysed using a pre-post analysis and a difference-in-difference model. Fourteen preschool centres in an urban area of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. Child-parent dyads of children aged 4-6 years. Final analyses included 306 (for food knowledge and preferences) and 258 (for dietary diversity) dyads. MCI significantly influenced the impact pathways to children's dietary diversity by increasing children's food knowledge and healthy food preferences scores by 3·76 and 2·79 (P < 0·001), respectively, but not the dietary diversity score (P = 0·603), compared with the control arm. Relative to SCI, MCI significantly improved children's food knowledge score by 1·10 (P < 0·001), but no significant effects were noted for other outcome variables. Improved food knowledge and preferences require a positive food environment and time to develop into healthy eating behaviours. Research into dietary diversity should broaden to incorporate the contextual roles of the home and general food environments to more completely understand food choices of children.

The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Innovative Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity among Children in the United States

The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Innovative Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity among Children in the United States

Parental consumption of ultra-processed, high-fat products has no association with childhood overweight/obesity: an epidemiological study among 10–12-years-old children in Greece

Overweight and obesity during childhood consist two of the most important public health issues in the 21st century. Consumption of high-fat processed food has been increased alarmingly. To examine the association between parental ultra-processed, high-fat products' consumption and childhood overweight/obesity. A cross-sectional survey, conducted among 422 children, aged 10-12 years, and their parents, during school years 2014-16. Parental and child data were collected through self-administered, anonymous and validated questionnaires. Among others, high-fat ultra-processed food consumption was also recorded. Children's weight status was based on gender- and age-specific tables derived from the International Obesity Task Force body mass index (BMI) cut-offs. The prevalence of obesity in the reference population was 2.9%, whereas the prevalence of overweight was 19.3%. A strong correlation was observed between children's and their parents' BMI status (P < 0.001). Multi-adjusted data analysis revealed no association between parental intake of ultra-processed, high-fat products and children overweight/obesity. Similarly, when the data analysis accounted for family income and physical activity status of the children, the aforementioned results remained insignificant. Despite the fact that parents' specific dietary habits seem not to affect their children's weight status, public health programs should consider parental nutrition education and mobilization as a preventive measure for childhood overweight/obesity.

Fenilketonürili Çocukların Beslenme Durum ve Davranışları Üzerine Annelerin Besleme Davranışlarının Etkisi

Amac: Calismanin amaci annelerin besleme davranislarinin, Fenilketonuri (PKU)’li cocuklarin beslenme durumlari ve davranislarina etkisini saptamaktir. Gerec ve Yontemler: PKU Aile Dernegi’ne uye 2-11 yas araligindaki PKU’lu cocuklar ve annelerine, yuz yuze gorusme metodu kullanilarak, ailenin sosyodemografik ozelliklerini ve annenin cocugu besleme davranislarini belirlemeye yonelik anket formu uygulanmis, cocuklarin antropometrik olcumleri alinmistir. Geriye donuk bir gunluk besin tuketim kayitlari alinarak, beslenme bilgi sistemi bilgisayar programi ile gunluk alinan enerji, makro ve mikro besin ogeleri hesaplanmis ve gunluk gereksinimleri karsilama duzeyleri belirlenmistir. Cocuklarin antropometrik degerlendirmesi WHO AnthroPlus Programi ile yapilmis, yasa gore agirlik z-skoru (WAZ), yas gore boy z-skoru (HAZ) ve yas gore BKI z-skoru (BAZ) degerleri hesaplanmistir. Bulgular: Cocuklarin ortalama WAZ degerinin 0.1±0.9, HAZ degerinin -0.3±1.7 ve BAZ degerinin 0.4±1.8 oldugu, annenin besleme davranisinin cocugun antropometrik olculerini etkiledigi tespit edilmistir (p 0.05). Cocuklarin buyuk cogunlugunun (%86.7) diyetine uyumlu oldugu, diyetine uyumlu cocuklarin annelerinin yaslarinin ise daha yuksek oldugu saptanmistir (p=0.03). Besin alimini reddeden cocuklarin annelerinin siklikla cocugu beslemekten vazgecmedigi (%80.0), bir sure bekledikten sonra tekrar besledigi (%26.7) ve oyun haline donusturerek besledigi (%23.3) belirlenmistir. Sonuc: Annelerin besleme davranislari cocuklarin beslenme durumunu etkilemektedir. PKU’lu cocuklarin yasam boyu uyguladiklari diyet tedavisine uyumu arttirmak icin ebeveynlere destekleyici beslenme egitimleri planlanarak, tedavinin bir parcasi haline getirilmesi saglanmalidir.

Vitamin A status and recurrent respiratory infection among Chinese children: A nationally representative survey.

Vitamin A is involved in immune function, vision, reproduction, and cell differentiation and is essential for child growth. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) contributes significantly to mortality and morbidity in developing countries. This study assessed the current vitamin A status in Chinese children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 26 provinces in China between 2015 and 2018, and 277,064 children aged 0-14 years were enrolled. Data on sociodemographic factors and dietary supplements were obtained through interviews with their parents. Serum vitamin A concentrations were measured using HPLC. To reduce the sampling error, a weighted distribution was produced to estimate the distribution of serum vitamin A concentration in Chinese children. A new method was used calculate the CI. The results revealed that 10.4% (23.9 million) (95% CI: 10.1%-10.8%) of Chinese children aged 0-14 years were at risk of suffering from subclinical VAD (SVAD) (<0.2 mg/L). Sick children, especially those with recurrent respiratory infections (21.3%, 95% CI: 20.5%-22.2%), were vulnerable to SVAD. A high prevalence of SVAD was observed in western and northeastern areas in China. Serum vitamin A concentrations in ethnic minority groups were significantly lower than those in Han Chinese children (p<0.01). VAD is still a moderate public health problem in Chinese children, especially in those with respiratory symptoms. Regular consumption of vitamin A-rich foods should be promoted through nutrition education for parents.

Influence of pre-schooler and parent nutrition education on carotenoid levels of Mexican-heritage children.

To determine the mediating effect of direct preschool and parent nutrition education on changes in skin carotenoids scores over 2 years in children of Mexican heritage. In a quasi-experimental, community-based study, two school districts were randomly assigned to either a comparison group (parent workshops unrelated to nutrition) or a childhood obesity prevention intervention group which included nutrition education at family nights for parents and at school for children. Changes in skin carotenoid intensity scores (diffCAROT, year 2015 minus 2013) were measured in children as a proxy for fruit and vegetable consumption using Resonance Raman Spectroscopy. Two rural, low-income, school districts from a county in California's Central Valley. 316 Mexican heritage families with children aged 3-8 years. Intervention group children improved over 2 years in skin carotenoid scores relative to comparison group children (diffCAROT mean +1419 (sd 9540) v. -3473 (sd 9272), P = 0·0001). Parent attendance at nutrition education classes partially mediated the intervention effect on diffCAROT (P = 0·02). Controlling for child's age and other covariates, participation in preschool during the study had a significant positive effect on diffCAROT among intervention children compared with controls (P < 0·03), whereas no significant difference by group was observed among those not enrolled in preschool or already enrolled in elementary school. Programmes that combine direct parent and preschool nutrition education may be effective in low-income Mexican heritage families to improve children's intake of fruit and vegetables.

Relationship Between Parental Lifestyle and Dietary Habits of Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundAlthough parents seek the best for their children, nutrition education for parents has attracted little attention to improve their children’s dietary habits. To address this gap, this study aimed to examine the relationship between parental lifestyle factors and children’s dietary habits.MethodsWe used data from the questionnaire survey of the Super Shokuiku School Project conducted in January 2016. The participants consisted of 1,632 elementary school children who answered questions about their lifestyle, while their parents answered parental lifestyle questions, including Breslow’s seven health practice score (BHPS). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the strength of the relationship between parental lifestyle factors and parental dietary attitudes or children’s dietary habits.ResultsCompared with good maternal BHPS (scores of 6–7), poor maternal BHPS (scores of 0–3) was significantly associated with less parental interest in Shokuiku, less parental consideration of nutrient balance, and an increased rate of children eating breakfast alone (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82–4.78, aOR 3.86; 95% CI, 2.50–5.96, and aOR 2.42; 95% CI, 1.34–4.35, respectively). There was no significant difference between parental BHPS and the following children’s dietary habits: frequency of eating breakfast, vegetable intake, and snacking. These habits of children were associated with their personal lifestyle factors.ConclusionTwo types of dietary habits among children were associated with lifestyle factors of both parents and children. Nutrition education might be especially important for parents to improve their dietary attitude and children’s dietary habits. However, different nutrition education interventions would be needed to appropriately address each dietary habit.