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

No description available.

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

Graduation date: 1995

No description available.

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.

No description available.

The use of color coded prompts to influence students' food selections in choosing a balanced meal was investigated. Yellow, green, blue, and orange dots, representing the four major food groups, grains, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and meat respectively were displayed at the point-of-selection on food entree cards along the serving line of a college dining hall. Two grain servings, two fruit/vegetable servings, one dairy serving, and one meat serving, were suggested as the optimal combination for a balanced meal. The results indicated that the prompts, although noticed and understood by the majority of the students, did not significantly influence their food selections. These findings are inconsistent with earlier studies substantiating the effectiveness of color coded prompts at the point-of-selection in influencing food choices. Implications are discussed.

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

No description available.