- Title
- An investigation into parental influences on the dietary intake of Australian preschool aged children
- Creator
- Duncanson, Kerith Rae
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The dietary intake of children aged two to five years determines childhood nutritional status and predicts lifelong eating habits. Under-nutrition, over-nutrition and mal-nutrition in the early years of life have all been associated with an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases in later life. With evidence suggesting that average child dietary intake is high in energy density but low in nutrient density there is a need to optimise dietary interventions and strategies for reduction in chronic disease risk factors. The primary purpose of this thesis was to investigate current dietary intake of Australian children aged between two and five years; determine the effect of a parent-focused nutrition intervention on child dietary intake, child feeding practices and parenting style; and identify factors that influence the child feeding practices of parents. Three research studies were undertaken to meet the aims of this body of research. A randomised controlled trial involving 146 rural Australian parents with preschool aged children was undertaken to examine the intervention effect of providing evidence-based, self-directed child feeding and nutrition resources on participants’ child feeding and parenting practices, and the dietary intake of children aged two to five years. The study showed that parents are receptive to nutrition and child feeding information in a self-directed format, the use of which had limited impact on child dietary intake and child feeding practices and parenting style. It was identified that improved tools for measurement of overall quality of child dietary intake, child feeding practices and parenting style were needed for use in preventative health research. The perceptions of parents in relation to their own child feeding practices relative to the Australian dietary guidelines and compared to parent peers were investigated in a qualitative study with a sub-group of 21 participants from the randomised controlled trial. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study identified that parents’ child nutrition attitudes and beliefs contributed to subjective norms and normative beliefs, which in turn influenced their child feeding-related behaviours. This study identified peer nutrition education as a potential model of improving the child feeding practices of parents, and thereby improving child dietary intake. A subsequent pilot study involving 34 mothers of children aged under two years established the feasibility of peer nutrition education to improve child feeding “norms” that are used by parents as a reference point for their own behaviours. In conclusion, the study findings presented in this thesis highlight the need for improved access to the Australian Dietary Guidelines in the early childhood setting, and more support for parents in implementing the dietary guidelines within home and community settings. The findings also demonstrated that parents’ perceptions of child feeding and dietary intake “norms” are more influential than the dietary guidelines. This research demonstrates the need for strategies to promote and support preventive child feeding behaviours in parents that improve the dietary intake of their preschool aged children. Peer nutrition education for parents commencing when children are infants is proposed as an area for subsequent research.
- Subject
- child; feeding; parent/al; practices; dietary; theory of planned behaviour
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1310073
- Identifier
- uon:21977
- Rights
- Copyright 2015 Kerith Rae Duncanson
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Abstract | 572 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 8 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |