Pediatric Department, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Dec;94(6 Suppl):2006S-2011S. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.001685. Epub 2011 Nov 16.
Parents have a high degree of control over the environments and experiences of their children. Food preferences are shaped by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. This article is a review of current data on effective determinants of children's eating habits. The development of children's food preferences involves a complex interplay of genetic, familial, and environmental factors. There is evidence of a strong genetic influence on appetite traits in children, but environment plays an important role in modeling children's eating behaviors. Parents use a variety of strategies to influence children's eating habits, some of which are counterproductive. Overcontrol, restriction, pressure to eat, and a promise of rewards have negative effects on children's food acceptance. Parents' food preferences and eating behaviors provide an opportunity to model good eating habits. Satiety is closely related to diet composition, and foods with low energy density contribute to prevent overeating. Parents should be informed about the consequences of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle and motivated to change their nutritional habits. Parents should be the target of prevention programs because children model themselves on their parents' eating behaviors, lifestyles, eating-related attitudes, and dissatisfaction regarding body image. Pediatricians can have an important role in the prevention of diet-related diseases. Informed and motivated parents can become a model for children by offering a healthy, high-satiety, low-energy-dense diet and promoting self-regulation from the first years of life.
父母对孩子的环境和经历有高度的控制。食物偏好是由遗传和环境因素共同决定的。本文综述了儿童饮食习惯的有效决定因素的最新数据。儿童食物偏好的发展涉及遗传、家庭和环境因素的复杂相互作用。有证据表明，儿童的食欲特征受强烈的遗传影响，但环境在塑造儿童的饮食行为方面起着重要作用。父母使用各种策略来影响孩子的饮食习惯，其中一些策略适得其反。过度控制、限制、强迫进食和承诺奖励会对孩子的食物接受产生负面影响。父母的食物偏好和饮食习惯为树立良好的饮食习惯提供了机会。饱腹感与饮食成分密切相关，低能量密度的食物有助于防止暴饮暴食。应该让父母了解不健康饮食和生活方式的后果，并激励他们改变营养习惯。父母应该成为预防计划的目标，因为孩子会模仿父母的饮食行为、生活方式、与饮食相关的态度以及对身体形象的不满。儿科医生可以在预防与饮食相关的疾病方面发挥重要作用。知情和积极的父母可以通过提供健康、高饱腹感、低能量密度的饮食，并从生命的最初几年开始促进自我调节，为孩子树立榜样。
