Mothers of preschoolers report using less pressure in child feeding situations following a newsletter intervention.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the impact of written intervention materials on child feeding practices of mothers and on physical activity behaviors of preschoolers.

DESIGN

Mothers were divided into 3 groups: newsletter (n = 30), booklet (n = 31), and control (n = 31). Questionnaires were completed before and after a 12-week intervention.

SETTING

Mail correspondence.

PARTICIPANTS

White (90%), full-time mothers (76%) in their thirties (68%).

INTERVENTIONS

Nutrition and activity information was provided as twelve 4-page weekly newsletters or one 52-page booklet.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Child feeding factors, physical activity practices.

ANALYSIS

Child feeding factors were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon. Physical activity practices were analyzed using 2-way chi-square and sign tests. The significance level was set at .0125.

RESULTS

There was a significant decrease in the "pressure to eat" score for participants in the newsletter group (2.5 +/- 1.0 to 2.1 +/- 1.0, P < .01). No other differences in feeding practices were observed. At baseline, 43% of the mothers said their child spent at least 1 hour per day in active play, and 63% said their child watched television less than 2 hours per day. A significant increase in outdoor play was reported in the newsletter (P < .01) and control (P < .01) groups.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study is one of the first to indicate that child feeding practices may be modifiable.