Public Health, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK.
Health Economics and Decision Science, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK.
Appetite. 2022 Jan 1;168:105777. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105777. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
Grandparents are frequently called upon to provide childcare to young children. Consequently, grandparents may influence the development of children's eating habits and preferences and may require support with their approach to feeding young children. However, research into grandparental feeding behaviours is scarce. Understanding how grandparental feeding behaviours compare to parental feeding behaviours will further help to establish whether grandparents require specific interventions unique to the grandparental role or if current strategies that target parental feeding behaviour are also appropriate for grandparents. The aim of the present study was to explore the similarities and differences between parent and grandparent dietary provision, feeding practices and feeding styles to preschool-aged children. 72 parents and 44 unrelated grandparents of children aged 2-4 years old took part in an online study and completed an online 24-h dietary recall using myfood24® to assess dietary provision. Parents and grandparents were providing meals high in saturated fat and sodium and providing below recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables. Overall, feeding practices were similar between parents and grandparents. Although, grandparents scored lower on using food as a reward (p < 0.05) and creating a healthy food environment (p < 0.05) compared to parents. Whereas, parents scored higher for promoting balance and variety (p < 0.05). A range of feeding styles were found within each caregiver type, with no significant associations found between caregiver type and feeding style (p > 0.05). Strategies to promote healthy eating in young children should be expanded to also target grandparents who act as informal caregivers to preschool-aged children. However, since very few differences in feeding behaviour were reported the content of such strategies may not need to be adapted specifically for grandparents.
祖父母经常被要求照顾幼儿。因此，他们可能会影响孩子的饮食习惯和偏好，并可能需要在喂养孩子方面得到支持。然而，关于隔代喂养行为的研究很少。了解隔代喂养行为与父母喂养行为的差异，将有助于进一步确定祖父母是否需要针对隔代角色的特定干预措施，或者当前针对父母喂养行为的策略是否也适用于祖父母。本研究旨在探讨父母和祖父母为学龄前儿童提供饮食、喂养行为和喂养风格的异同。72 名父母和 44 名与 2-4 岁儿童无关的祖父母参加了一项在线研究，并使用 myfood24®完成了在线 24 小时膳食回忆，以评估饮食供应。父母和祖父母提供的膳食中饱和脂肪和钠含量高，提供的水果和蔬菜量低于推荐量。总体而言，父母和祖父母的喂养行为相似。然而，与父母相比，祖父母在使用食物作为奖励（p<0.05）和创造健康的食物环境（p<0.05）方面得分较低。而父母在促进平衡和多样性方面得分较高（p<0.05）。在每种照顾者类型中都发现了各种喂养风格，并且在照顾者类型和喂养风格之间没有发现显著关联（p>0.05）。应扩大针对年轻儿童的健康饮食策略，以覆盖作为学龄前儿童非正式照顾者的祖父母。然而，由于报告的喂养行为差异很少，因此此类策略的内容可能不需要专门针对祖父母进行调整。
