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Health Education Research, Vol. 14, No. 6, 717-727, December 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press

What do mothers feed their children and why?

Thomas St John Alderson and Jane Ogden1

Nuffield Road Medical Centre, Nuffield Road, Cambridge CB4 1GL and
1 Department of General Practice, GKT, 5 Lambeth Walk, London SE11 6SP, UK

Correspondence to: J. Ogden

Health education interventions aimed at changing children's diets often target their mothers. However, little is known about what factors influence mothers' food choice for themselves and how this is related to their choice of food for their children. The present study aimed to examine the types of foods mothers eat themselves and their motivations for doing so in comparison with their choices for their primary school age children. In addition, the study aimed to assess whether the mother's dieting behaviour affected these differences. A questionnaire was completed by 218 (response rate 52%) mothers of children aged between 5 and 11 asking them about their behaviour and motivations for themselves and on behalf of their children. The results showed that mothers tend to feed their children in a less healthy way than they feed themselves. Specifically, they feed their children more sweet products, and more unhealthy breads and dairy products. However, whereas they are motivated more by practicality (e.g. availability, cost) and calories when choosing food for themselves, they state that health (e.g. nutritional value, long-term health) is more important when choosing for their children. In terms of the role of the mothers' dieting behaviour, dieters appeared to be more self-prioritizing than non-dieters in their differentiation between themselves and their children. The results are discussed in terms of the role of knowledge and cognitions in explaining the gaps between motivations and behaviour and the mothers' decisions for themselves and for their children. In addition, the implications for interventions are considered. In particular, it is suggested that changing a mother's own motivations and behaviour may not necessarily result in an improvement in their child's diet. Further, encouraging mothers to diet may be detrimental to their children's long-term health.


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K. Fraser, M. Wallis, and W. S. John
Improving children's problem eating and mealtime behaviours: An evaluative study of a single session parent education programme
Health Education Journal, January 1, 2004; 63(3): 229 - 241.
[Abstract] [PDF]


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