A Qualitative Evaluation of Social Aspects of Sugar-Rich Food and Drink Intake and Parental Strategies for Reductions (original) (raw)

Reducing Young Schoolchildren’s Intake of Sugar-Rich Food and Drinks: Study Protocol and Intervention Design for “Are You Too Sweet?” A Multicomponent 3.5-Month Cluster Randomised Family-Based Intervention Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020

A high consumption of sugar-rich discretionary food and drinks has several health implications, which have been traced from childhood into adulthood. Parents act as primary mediators shaping children’s dietary habits, and interventions that engage parents have shown to result in positive outcomes. Further, collaboration with local school health nurses and dentists provides an effective structural frame to support behaviour change and anchor new initiatives. The multicomponent 3.5-month cluster randomised family-focused intervention “Are you too Sweet?” aims to evaluate the effectiveness of communicating new Danish guidelines for sugar-rich discretionary food and drinks for school starters (5–7 years). This paper describes the development, outcomes and process evaluation of the intervention that includes three main components: extended dialogue during a school health nurse consultation, a box with home-use materials, and a social media platform to facilitate interaction among partici...

Evaluation of Parental Acceptability and Use of Intervention Components to Reduce Pre-School Children’s Intake of Sugar-Rich Food and Drinks

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Knowledge is needed about effective tools that reach public health objectives focused on reducing the intake of sugar-rich foods and drinks. The purpose of this study was to assess the parental acceptability, use and motivational potential of intervention components developed in the randomized family-based trial ‘Are you too sweet?’ aimed at reducing the intake of sugar-rich foods and drinks among children (5–7 y). Intervention components included guidance on sugar-rich foods and drinks at a school health nurse consultation, a box with home-use materials and a digital platform. The methods used were a questionnaire among intervention families (n = 83) and semi-structured interviews with parents in selected intervention families (n = 24). Results showed the good acceptability and usefulness of the components, with reported frequencies of use of materials ranging from 48% to 94% and a high satisfaction rate with the school health nurse consultation. Personalized feedback and guidance ...

Impact of a health marketing campaign on sugars intake by children aged 5–11 years and parental views on reducing children’s consumption

BMC Public Health

Background The association between Free Sugars intake and non-communicable diseases such as obesity and dental caries is well documented and several countries are taking measures to reduce sugars intakes. Public Health England (PHE) instigated a range of approaches to reduce sugars, including a national health marketing campaign (Sugar Smart). The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the amount of sugars in foods and drinks and to encourage parents to reduce their children’s intake. The aim of this study was to determine whether the campaign was effective in altering dietary behaviour, by assessing any impact of the campaign on sugars intake among children aged 5–11 years. Parental perceptions of the campaign and barriers to reducing sugars intake were also explored. Methods Parents of 873 children aged 5–11 years, identified from an existing PHE database, were invited to take part. Dietary information was collected online using Intake24 before, during, and at 1, 10 and 12 months fo...

Contribution of home availability, parental child-feeding practices and health beliefs on children’s sweets and salty snacks consumption in Europe: Feel4Diabetes-Study

British Journal of Nutrition

Adoption of healthy dietary and snacking habits could support optimum physical and mental development in children as they define health in adulthood. This study assessed parameters associated with children’s snacking such as food home availability, parenting practices, and parents’ health beliefs. In this cross-sectional study 12, 039 children, 49.4% boys 5-12 years old, participating in the European Feel4Diabetes-Study were included. Children’s weekly consumption of sweets and salty snacks, home availability of snacks, food parenting practices, and health beliefs were assessed via questionnaires. Logistic regression was applied to explore associations of a) home availability of snacks, b) food parenting practices (permissiveness and rewarding with snacks) and c) parent’s opinions on deterministic health beliefs with children’s consumption of sweets and salty snacks. Results showed that home availability (sweets: ORadj 4.76, 95%CI: 4.32, 5.23; salty snacks: ORadj: 6.56, 95%CI: 5.64,...

Relationships between children’s sugar consumption at home and their food choices and consumption at school lunch

Public Health Nutrition

Objective: To investigate the relationships between children’s food and drink choices at school lunch for children who consume high and low sugar intakes at home. Design: Children’s food and drink consumption at home was assessed using diet diaries over three consecutive days. Children were classified as ‘high’ or ‘low’ sugar consumers at home using the WHO recommendation that free sugars should be less than 10 % of their daily total energy intake. A purposive sample of children was then selected and observed during school lunch, recording food selections, food left on plates and content of packed lunches. Setting: Six primary schools in Newham and Kent, England. Participants: Parents and children aged 6–7 years. Results: Seventy-one parents completed diet diaries. From the seventy-one, thirty-nine children were observed during school lunch. Twenty children were high sugar consumers, nineteen children were low sugar consumers; thirty-one children had a school meal. Eleven of the fif...

Intakes and perceived home availability of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit and vegetables as reported by mothers, fathers and adolescents in the HEIA (HEalth In Adolescents) study

Public Health Nutrition, 2011

ObjectiveTo investigate the intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), fruit and vegetables (FV) among adolescents and their parents and to explore differences in the perceived availability by gender and parental education.DesignBaseline data from the HEIA (HEalth In Adolescents) study.SettingData on intake of SSB were collected assessing frequency and amounts, whereas consumption of FV was assessed on the basis of frequency. Further, perceived availability at home and at school (taken from home) was reported.SubjectsParticipants were 1528 Norwegian adolescents aged 11 years, as well as 1200 mothers and 1057 fathers.ResultsThe adolescents’ intake of SSB was low on weekdays but doubled during weekend days. This pattern was observed among parents as well. There were significant differences in intake between boys, girls, mothers and fathers, except for vegetables. Fathers reported the lowest frequency of FV intake. Compared with adolescents, mothers reported lower availability of SSB ...