J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021 Mar 11:S2212-2672(21)00077-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2021.02.004. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Consistent, evidence-based child feeding guidance targeted to parents of children ages birth to 24 months (B-24) is needed for early childhood obesity prevention.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to develop and pretest a comprehensive set of child feeding and obesity prevention messages for parents of children ages B-24.
DESIGN: A qualitative, 2-phase protocol, grounded in social and behavior change, was used as a conceptual interview framework to pilot test early childhood feeding messages with parents.
PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Participants were parents (n = 23) of children ages B-24.
METHODS: A core set of 12 messages and supporting materials were developed for parents of children ages B-24 based on previous research findings, current research evidence, and feeding guidance. Parents were individually interviewed using a semistructured script along with additional questions to rank perceptions of message qualities.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall comprehension, importance, believability, ease of implementation, and likelihood of use of messages were assessed.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: Data analysis included qualitative thematic analysis and descriptive statistics for Likert-scaled responses.
RESULTS: Participants were primarily female, non-Hispanic White, with a mean age of 33.3 ± 6.8 years and at least a bachelor’s degree. Overall, most messages were understood, believable, perceived as important, and feasible by parents. Messages related to starting solid foods, encouraging child control of intake and self-feeding, and food allergen guidance were perceived as more difficult and less likely to be implemented by parents.
CONCLUSIONS: Additional research is needed to evaluate actual implementation of messages by diverse parents and resulting outcomes including impact on child weight.
PMID:33715977 | DOI:10.1016/j.jand.2021.02.004
