This research explores a different view of the picky or fussy eater. Although occupational therapists and speech therapists are aware that children with sensory defensiveness and specific tactile defensiveness have different eating habits, this has not been described before.

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The self-efficacy construct has been determined to be an effective method of stimulating desired eating behavior in diabetics and obese adults and exercise behaviors in pulmonary rehabilitation patients. Although the self-efficacy construct has been shown to mediate eating habits, practical classroom application of the construct has been rarely used in this area. A review of literature indicated that no studies have been reported on the effect of self-efficacy on food-related behaviors of children. The primary purpose of this research was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy predicts changes in food choices of fifth-grade children. The effect of self-perceptions of competence on the nutrition knowledge of children after a nutrition education intervention program was also assessed. Forty-five fifth-grade children in two classrooms participated in this study. Their self-perception profile, food choices, nutrition knowledge, and food acceptance were measured both before and after the nutrition education unit. A 25 item nutrition knowledge questionnaire was also administered to the children before and after the nutrition education program. Change in knowledge in the cognitive domain was measured by differences in scores on the nutrition knowledge pretest and posttest. Students kept five-day food records for the school lunch items consumed. The fruit and vegetable intakes of the students were estimated from these food records. Chi-square analyses were performed on the data to determine the relationship between self-efficacy as the independent variable and change in food choices, and food acceptance and change in nutrition knowledge as the dependent variables. The 3 x 3 contingency tables indicated that there were no significant relationships between selfefficacy and change in food choices, food acceptance and nutrition knowledge. The findings provide limited support for the usefulness of the self-efficacy construct in understanding and predicting eating behavior change. It is recommended that further investigations of the predictive capability of the self-efficacy expectancy be conducted in children of this age group to better understand its relationship with food choices and implications for nutrition education for school children. / Graduation date: 1994

The relationship of Saturday morning television food commercials viewed and the food consumption of third graders in the Franklin County Community School Corporation in Franklin County, Indiana, was investigated. Such information should help parents, dietitians, and teachers educate children, ultimately producing a healthier population. The results of this study could possibly assist the federal agencies revise guidelines to help protect the children.The independent variable measured was food commercials viewed on Saturday morning; the dependent variable was food consumed. The instrument was designed, pilot-tested, and administered by the researcher with subjects’ identities remaining anonymous.Following data collection, the relationship between the variables was tested using phi coefficient. The phi value of .470 was considered to be significant beyond the .05 level to .00000 level. It was concluded that foods viewed on television are significantly correlated with foods consumed. / Department of Home Economics

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This study tested the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain adolescent fast-food consumption among 349 high school adolescents. Subjective norms were further investigated to identify how parents and friends influenced adolescent fast-food consumption. Study participants completed a paper-based questionnaire measuring adolescent attitude, subjective norms for parents and friends, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention. Path analysis revealed that TPB explained adolescent fast-food behavioral intention to consume fast food. The model identified parent subjective norms had the strongest relationship with adolescent behavioral intention to consume fast food. Parent norms differed across age and grade in high school. Older adolescents perceived more approval for eating fast food than younger adolescents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

No description available.

A 60-item food sort patterned after a game used in anthropological studies was developed to measure food intake of 19 preschool children attending a day care center in Southwest Virginia. Response agreement was determined by administering the game twice to children one month apart, followed by phone interviews with parents, school menu review and teacher interview to confirm child response. Most three-year-olds completed only 20 out of 60 items; nine four- to five-year-olds were able to complete all 60. Children were fairly consistent in response over a month's time, with rough agreements 80 percent or higher for almost half the group; rough parent-child agreements were also reasonably good, with more than half scoring 75 percent or higher and none scoring below 60 percent. Dietary assessment was only possible to a limited degree, but food group frequency scores revealed children's estimates of their own intake to be considerably higher than those of parents. While reliability of children as primary sources of dietary data is suggested, further study is needed before true validity and reliability of the instrument can be established. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of parent education on increasing parental awareness of vegetable servings needed by preschool children, lowering barriers to increase vegetable consumption in their children's diets, increasing confidence in their ability to increase vegetables in their children's meals, and promoting parent-child interaction to increase vegetable consumption by preschool children. The study was conducted with parents enrolled in the Kid-co Head Start program in Albany and Corvallis. The study protocol consisted of an experimental (n=10 parents) and control (n=4 parents) group. Parents in the experimental group attended a family night event about vegetables on February 13th of 2003. This event was followed by an in-school activity and a delivery of reinforcement material about vegetables, one week after family night event took place. Parents in the control group attended a family night event about healthy snacking on February 13th of 2003. Parents from both groups participated in a follow-up phone interview. A high proportion of participants (75%) of the control group were Hispanics. In the experimental group, 70% were whites and 30% were Hispanics. Levels of education of participants of both groups ranged from 6 years of school up to college degrees. Findings revealed vegetable availability in participants' homes. Fresh vegetable availability in control and experimental group combined ranged from 2 to 7 types of vegetables, before the intervention, and 2 to 5 types after the intervention. Seventy one percent of participants of combined experimental and control groups had frozen vegetables and 85.7% had canned vegetables (before and after the intervention). Daily vegetable consumption was reported by 64.3% of the parents from both experimental and control groups combined. A high proportion of parents (71.4%) from combined experimental and control groups reported that their children eat vegetables every day. Dinner, lunch and snacks are meals in which children eat most vegetables. No significant difference was found about parents' awareness of the daily recommended number of vegetable servings needed by young children between experimental and control group. Similarly, no significant difference was found in experimental group responses before and after the intervention. Findings before the intervention indicate that 50% of participants in the experimental group didn't know the recommendation needed by young children. After the intervention 10% of participants responded that they didn't know the recommendation. No significant difference was found about parents' confidence in their ability to increase vegetables in their children's diets between control and experimental groups responses (before and after the intervention). Similarly, no significant difference was found in experimental group responses before and after the intervention. However, high levels of confidence were reported in both groups. Before the intervention, 75% and 50% of parents in the control and experimental group respectively, reported they felt "very confident." After the intervention, 75% and 40% of parents in the control and experimental group respectively, reported they still felt "very confident." Before the intervention most participants in both groups reported they have barriers to increase the amount of vegetables in their children's diets at least sometimes. The barrier "My child doesn't like vegetables" was reported by 60% of parents in the experimental group and by 100% in the control group, at least sometimes. "Too much time to prepare vegetables" was reported by 25% and 10% of participants in the control and experimental group, respectively. Fifty percent of parents in the control group indicated they have lack of preparation skills, while only 10% of parents in the experimental group reported the same barrier. None of participants in the control group considered "cost of vegetables" a barrier. However, 50% in the experimental group reported the barrier "cost of vegetables." I can't get satisfactory vegetables" was reported by 25% and by 40% of participants in the control and experimental group, respectively. After the intervention, 25% and 30% of parents in the control and experimental group reported that "Nothing" is consider a barrier. However, "My child doesn't like vegetables" was a barrier for 50% of parents in the control group and 10% in the experimental group. Not enough time and energy to cook were barriers reported by 30% and 20% of participants in the experimental group only. Lack of preparation skills was reported by 25% of participants in the control group and by 10% in the experimental group. Only 20% of parents in the experimental group tried the vegetable recipes provided in the handouts. However, 90% of parents in the experimental group reported they tried to give more vegetables to their child since the family event. Ninety percent of parents reported preparing vegetables with their children. Letting their children choose a vegetable in the store was another parent-child interaction activity practiced by 60% of parents from the experimental group. All parents from the experimental group agreed that our educational material helped them to interact with their children. Ninety percent of parents agreed it helped to save money and 70% agreed it helped to prepare more vegetables for their child. Forty percent of parents reported that their child ate more vegetables after the family event. / Graduation date: 2004