Factors influencing parents’ unhealthy food and beverage provision to children aged 3 to 7 years old

Predictors of parental unhealthy food and beverage provision to children (3-7yo): Confirmatory structural equation modelling using the Health Action Process Approach framework

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12617000603314

Enrollment

495

Registered

2017-04-27

Start date

2015-04-09

Completion date

2017-07-31

Last updated

2020-03-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Globally children's intake of unhealthy foods and beverages is excessive, contributing to weight gain and risk of obesity. Parents’ attitudes and beliefs influencing food provision provide a promising new avenue for obesity prevention through reducing children’s intake of unhealthy foods and beverages. There is a need to understand the relative importance of different parental attitudes and beliefs in influencing their provision, starting with the home setting. The aim of this study is to understand the relationships between, and relative importance of, parents’ attitudes and beliefs and children’s intake of unhealthy foods and beverages. This aim will be achieved by an online cross-sectional survey of parents of 3-7 year olds to measure parental attitudes and beliefs influencing their provision of unhealthy foods. The data will be examined using Structural Equation Modelling analyses to determine the predictive ability of attitudes and beliefs on parents’ provision of unhealthy foods to 3-7 year old children. Findings from this study can then be used to develop evidence-based interventions to support parents’ to limit provision of unhealthy foods and beverages, hence improve energy balance and prevent obesity from an early age.

Interventions

Each participant will complete a once-off online survey containing: general demographic information about themselves and their child; a modified version of the Short Food Survey food frequency questionnaire for their child to capture children’s usual intake of unhealthy foods and beverages and overall diet quality, and the Parental Food Attitude Questionnaire to capture parent’s own attitudes and beliefs regarding unhealthy food provision to their child.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Parents of children aged 3-7 years of age, fluent in written English

Exclusion criteria

Children outside of the specified age range (<3.0 or =/>8.0 years) at the time of the study. Children with a medical condition requiring a special diet inconsistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines (e.g. cystic fibrosis).

Outcome results