National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074.
Kantar Health, 50 Scotts Road, Singapore, 228242.
Appetite. 2020 May 1;148:104555. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104555. Epub 2019 Dec 13.
Many countries recommend parental involvement to enhance the effectiveness of healthy lifestyle interventions focusing on behavioural modifications that encourage weight management in children. Our study investigates to what extent the different constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) are influencing healthy eating behaviour among mothers of pre-school and primary school children in Singapore.
A total of 716 mothers of pre-schoolers, 3-6 years old (N = 358) and primary school students, 7-12 years old (N = 358) were administered a survey to assess healthy eating behaviour using the TPB constructs. Bivariate correlations among TPB constructs were calculated and tested using Pearson's correlation. Multivariate generalized regression was performed to examine the associations between TPB constructs and healthy eating behaviour.
More than 80% of children consumed less than the daily recommended servings of at least 1 glass of dairy,2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables per day advised by the Singapore Health Board. More primary school children consumed less dairy per day compared to pre-school children (48.9% vs 26.3%; p < 0.001). Primary school children's healthy eating behaviours were correlated with mother's perceived behavioural control (PBC) such as adequate discipline (β = 0.40; p = 0.001), self-efficacy (β = 0.35; p = 0.01) and a lower barrier that healthy food does not satisfy hunger (β = -1.16; p < 0.001). Barriers that significantly reduced pre-school children's healthy food intake were lack of motivation among mothers (β = -1.13; p < 0.001) and children (β = -0.49; p = 0.02), lack of satiety (β = -1.06; p = 0.02), difficulty in changing child's eating habits (β = -0.58; p = 0.03), lack of family support (β = -0.62; p = 0.03).
Findings from this study provides a formative foundation for future research and exploration of plausible interventions around improving mother's PBC, self-efficacy and reducing barriers, which could increase mother's engagement in improving their children's healthy eating behaviours in Singapore.
许多国家建议家长参与，以提高以行为改变为重点的健康生活方式干预措施的效果，鼓励儿童管理体重。我们的研究调查了新加坡学前和小学生的母亲的计划行为理论（TPB）的不同构念在多大程度上影响了她们的健康饮食习惯。
共对 716 名学前儿童（3-6 岁，N=358）和小学生（7-12 岁，N=358）的母亲进行了一项调查，使用 TPB 构念评估健康饮食习惯。计算 TPB 构念之间的双变量相关性，并使用 Pearson 相关进行检验。进行多元广义回归分析，以检验 TPB 构念与健康饮食行为之间的关联。
超过 80%的儿童每天摄入的乳制品、水果和蔬菜推荐量不足，每天少于 1 杯乳制品、2 份水果和 2 份蔬菜。与学前儿童相比，小学生每天摄入的乳制品较少（48.9%比 26.3%；p<0.001）。小学生的健康饮食行为与母亲的感知行为控制（PBC）相关，如适当的纪律（β=0.40；p=0.001）、自我效能（β=0.35；p=0.01）和健康食品不能满足饥饿感的较低障碍（β=-1.16；p<0.001）。显著降低学前儿童健康食物摄入量的障碍是母亲（β=-1.13；p<0.001）和儿童（β=-0.49；p=0.02）缺乏动机、缺乏饱腹感（β=-1.06；p=0.02）、改变孩子饮食习惯困难（β=-0.58；p=0.03）、缺乏家庭支持（β=-0.62；p=0.03）。
本研究的结果为未来研究提供了基础，并探索了提高母亲的 PBC、自我效能和减少障碍的可行干预措施，这可能会增加母亲参与改善新加坡儿童健康饮食习惯的积极性。
