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The current research was developed from a review of the literature on the influence of parental control on children's eating and weight, and in particular the research examining parental restriction and poor self-regulation of energy. The impetus for the research was the confusion in the literature about the positive and negative aspects of control and the need to explore the influence of parental control at earlier periods of child development in socio economically diverse samples. The aim of the first study was to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) in an Australian sample of preschool children. Consistent with previous research, the factor structure was problematic with respect to the Restriction subscale. The two items that ask about the use of rewards showed poor cohesion with other items on the Restriction subscale, raising concerns about the conceptualisation of restriction as measured by the CFQ. The second study sought to determine whether currently available measures of restriction were appropriate for assessing parent behaviours with toddlers, and to explore the strategies that mothers use to control their toddlers' intake of energy-dense snack foods. A qualitative methodology was employed and interviews were conducted with 22 mothers who had toddlers aged between 18 and 24 months. A key finding was a lack of variability in responses to the CFQ Restriction subscale in contrast to the range of individual differences in parents' reported use of control. A thematic analysis provided the basis for the development of a questionnaire to quantify the key concepts that were identified. Exploratory factor analysis was then used to refine these concepts resulting in a five factor structure that has been named the Toddler Feeding Questionnaire (TFQ). The TFQ incorporates a broad range of measures of parental control over feeding, including how much parents allow access to energy-dense foods (Allow Access), the rules associated with managing intake of these foods (Rules), and flexibility in the way rules are applied (Flexibility). It also includes a measure of parental self-efficacy beliefs (Self-efficacy), which may influence the use of feeding practices, and a measure of toddlers' attraction to energy-dense foods (Child's Attraction), a characteristic of the child that may influence both parent feeding practices and energy intake. The factor structure was examined in a sample of mothers of toddlers, and replicated in a second sample of mothers of preschool children, who responded retrospectively about their feeding practices. Subsequent analyses were conducted to examine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity of the TFQ factors to provide a preliminary validation of the instrument. To further examine the validity of the TFQ, feeding practices of normal weight, overweight and obese parents were compared. The relationship between the TFQ factors (based on retrospective reports) and BMI z scores in preschool children were also examined. In the preschool sample only, normal weight parents had significantly more rules compared to obese parents and were less flexible compared to overweight parents, and obese parents allowed their children more access to snack foods compared with overweight and normal weight parents. The TFQ factors were not associated with BMI z scores in preschool children. The final study investigated the association between feeding practices, including the TFQ factors and CFQ Restriction, and self-regulation of energy intake in toddlers. The main aim was to determine if the TFQ factor Allow Access would moderate the relationship between CFQ Restriction and ad libitum intake of snack foods, using an age appropriate adaptation of the Free Access Procedure developed by Fisher and Birch (1999a). The findings confirmed a moderating influence of Allow Access. Restriction was a significant predictor of intake only when Allow Access was high. The implications of this finding for the development of parental feeding advice and the conceptualisation of parental control are discussed. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1331550 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 2008

This study examines references to foods mentioned in elementary school texts used in Montreal English schools. A study of 58 language arts and math texts used in grades 1-6 revealed a total of 4,391 references to foods in words and/or pictures. A large proportion of these references were to sugar-rich foods. A higher percentage of adult females prepared foods, followed closely by adult males. Boys were shown as eating food more frequently than any other group. Eating with one's peers was far more frequent than eating with the family, while a surprising number of children depicted in texts used in grades 1-3 consumed their food alone. The results of this study suggest that, because unintended information may influence childrens' nutritional habits, more attention should be paid to concomitant messages in elementary school textbooks.

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The present study assessed the relationship between the paternal use of food in a contingency manner and the physical status of the respective son. The prevalence of childhood obesity has been documented to be significant in this country (Mayer, 1968; Collipp, 1975; Forbes, 1975; Hafen, 1981). The etiology of the increasing percentages of obese children is based upon a variety of variables. Parental influence on children's eating habits and socioeconomic variables, which influence parents, appeared to be possible factors in the development of childhood obesity. / Master of Science

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This research project investigated the influences of a supermarket intervention on the food choices of parents and their children. Twenty-four families (11 experimental; 13 control) participated in this study. They used the NLS weekly when they completed their major shopping. The NLS was a public access, interactive information system located in the supermarket which provided users with information and feedback about how to decrease fat and increase fiber in their food purchases. During the intervention, participants in the experimental condition viewed a different videodisc program each week. In addition, they were able to enter their intended shopping purchases for each weekly shopping, and receive feedback about the items they intended to purchase. Control participants entered their intended purchases, but received no information or feedback. All participants sent in their detailed supermarket receipts. The NLS phases included baseline, intervention, and follow up. Families with children ages 8-15 years were recruited for the family study. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-assessment. One target child was selected from each family. The main family study measures were the Card Sorting Task (CST) and the Food History Questionnaire (FHQ). The CST used pictures of food items. The FHQ was used to evaluate the usual diet over one month. The CST task was analyzed with a Wilcoxon test; the FHQ task was analyzed with an ANCOVA, using the pre-assessment score as the covariate. The results indicated that experimental participants reported an increase in their consumption of low-fat dairy products and low-fat fruit (FHQ data). In addition, experimental participants reported a decrease in their behavior, preference and knowledge for high-fat snacks and and high-fat entrees (CST data). The results suggested that parents and their children may be positively affected by a public-access interactive videodisc information system directed to parent use. Overall, the results provided some evidence that parents who are involved in a nutrition intervention also will influence their children's food choices. Future research should further evaluate the effects of the intervention on different food categories and continue to investigate how changes in certain food choices affect other choices. Variables relating to health beliefs, types of foods to change, meal preparations, family characteristics, and behavior strategies all must be considered in future intervention programming. / Ph. D.

Food advertising aimed at children in America has been proven to directly impact food preferences, eating behavior and brand loyalty of youth (Story & French, 2004). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content of television commercials that occurred during children's programming on the popular children's network Nickelodeon. This study examined the frequency, nutritional content and overall advertising techniques associated with food, beverage and restaurant commercials. It also assessed the degree to which children are being exposed to the promotion of unhealthy food, beverage restaurant commercials. This study examined commercials that aired on the Nickelodeon Network between Monday, August 11 through Friday, August 15, 2008 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the Comcast Cable System in Stockton, California. The programming was recorded on a VHS tape and then later reviewed and analyzed. Each commercial was examined in the following areas: nutritional content; slogan; branded characters; premium; link to a movie and healthy message. This study demonstrated that 40.65% of the commercials airing between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the Nickelodeon television network are for food, beverage and/or restaurants. Twenty-six percent of food, beverage and restaurant commercials met or exceeded the daily recommended levels of fat, added sugars, and sodium, and fell short of providing essential nutrients as outlined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (United States Department of Agriculture, 2008). The results of this study indicate that a considerable amount of food commercials targeting children as consumers. Government regulation seems unlikely due to the First Amendment, rights to free speech. This study points to several suggestions for advertisers, advocates, Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) teachers and parents to address the issue of advertising to children. Some of the suggestions include stricter self-regulation, education and parental responsibility.

MSCPNT / Department of Nutrition / Introduction: Nutrition education is the change process whereby beliefs, attitudes, environmental influences, and understanding about food lead to nutrition practices that are scientifically sound, practical, and consistent with individual needs and available resources Design and Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess the nutrition knowledge of educators in Makhuduthamaga municipality, Limpopo Province. Quantitative, descriptive, and exploratory research was conducted to determine the factors that influence the nutrition knowledge of educators and explore the relationship between factors and nutrition knowledge. The simple random sampling technique was employed to select 200 educators in grades 4, 5, and 6. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The data was analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS), version 21. Results and Discussion: Of the educators who participated in the study, 66.5% were female, and 33.5% were males. Almost all (94%) of the educators were trained at a college and had teaching experience of between 21-30 years. Most of the educators (60.5%) had a diploma, while 0.5% had a master’s degree. Almost one third of educators indicated that children should eat three (3) times during the day, and 32% identified the important meals as breakfast, lunch, and supper. Most (36.5%) failed to give reasons why children should not skip meals. In terms of basic food and nutrition, majority of the educators (75%, 67%, 56%, and 55.5%) responded correctly on the importance of carbohydrates, fat, vegetables, and fruits, respectively. Only a quarter (26%) knew the importance of protein, while 75.5% knew that protein forms part of a balanced diet. Most of the educators knew the rich sources of vitamin A and fibre but did not know the rich sources of iron, iodine, and vitamin C. There was no significant difference between the level of education and nutrition knowledge (p= 0.129), and between training institution and nutrition knowledge (p= 0.534). Conclusion: The need to train educators on nutrition was one of the main recommendations that emanated from many research projects. Most educators mentioned that training and level of education were of the factors that affected their nutrition knowledge. Nutrition knowledge is becoming increasingly important in food choices and in this study educators acknowledged that training affected their nutrition knowledge. / NRF

Text in English / This study aimed at exploring Barriers to compliance with exclusive breastfeeding and timely introduction of complementary feeding practices in Ofla District, Tigray Region in Ethiopia. A quantitative exploratory descriptive study was conducted to explore and describe the barriers that restrict mothers /caregivers to comply with exclusive breast feeding practice until six months and with introduction of solid, semi-solid and soft foods at six months in Ofla District. Data were collected using structured questionnaire, from a total of 112 samples of which 75 mothers and care givers with children aged 0-5 months and 38 children aged 6-8 months participated. The data were entered into a computer and analysed though the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that there are barriers related Doer mothers and Non-Doer mothers perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, cues for actions, perceived social acceptability and positive and negative attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding and initiation of complementary feeding. On the other hand, the participant’s perception of both groups with regard to perception of Divine (God’s) Will on two child feeding practices was insignificantly the same. Both groups perceived that children could get sometimes malnourished because of spiritual or supernatural causes. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)