Year: 2016
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background There are increasing concerns relating to the specific contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to child obesity. Given that encouraging healthy eating habits can be easier in childhood before taste preferences and habits consolidate, interventions designed to improve children's diets need to address key factors contributing to children's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. These interventions have the potential to benefit both current and future cohorts. Methods Over 1,300 parents of children aged 8 to 14 years responded to an online survey about their children's food consumption behaviours. The relationship between a broad range of predictor variables and the frequency with which Australian children consume soft drinks was then explored using structural equation modelling techniques. Results Parents' attitudes to soft drinks, children's pestering behaviours, and perceived social norms relating to children's consumption of these products emerged as primary predictors of soft drink consumption frequency in children. Pestering and social norms were identified as especially important factors as a result of their significant direct effects on consumption frequency and significant indirect effects on consumption frequency via their impact on parents' attitudes to soft drink. Conclusions Interventions that focus on pestering and social norms have the potential to influence parents’ attitudes to soft drinks as well as their provision behaviours, possibly producing favourable dietary behavior changes that can be maintained over time. Key messages: Pestering and social norms were identified as especially important factors to address in reducing the frequency with which children consume soft drinks Interventions that focus on these factors have the potential to influence parents’ attitudes and food provision behaviours, possibly producing favourable behavioural changes that can be maintained
Authors: M Jongenelis, S Pettigrew, K Chapman, C Miller
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2587591091