Spyreli Eleni, McKinley Michelle C, Dean Moira
Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Science Block A, Queen's University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6BJ, United Kingdom.
Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK.
BMC Nutr. 2022 Sep 9;8(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s40795-022-00595-8.
Parents are the gatekeepers of nutrition in early life and their feeding practices form children's dietary behaviours. Although maternal characteristics have been associated with certain feeding practices, their relationship with overall quality of complementary feeding diets has not been explored. This study aimed to: assess dietary quality in complementary feeding age; explore its association with maternal and child characteristics; and evaluate the association between complementary feeding practices and child weight.
An online cross-sectional survey captured data from a self-selected sample of mothers living in the UK with a healthy full-term child in complementary feeding age. A total of 466 mothers completed a questionnaire on their complementary feeding practices, demographics, anthropometrics, rates of maternal food neophobia, feeding self-efficacy, social support, postnatal depression and infant temperament. Dietary quality was assessed using the Complementary Feeding Utility Index (CFUI). Children were classified into underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese.
Majority of participants reported high levels of dietary quality as determined by a mean CFUI score of 80%. High dietary quality was associated with reliance on the NHS recommendation on timing of complementary feeding and maternal self-efficacy in promoting a healthy diet and limiting non-recommended foods. Responsive feeding, longer breastfeeding duration, frequent exposure to fruits and to a high variety of protein-rich animal foods were significantly associated with lighter child weight status. Consumption of sweetened drinks and delayed introduction of lumpy foods were associated with heavier child weight status.
This study provided an evaluation of dietary quality in complementary feeding in a UK sample of children and explored its relationship with maternal and child attributes. Increasing understanding of the current complementary feeding recommendations and strengthening maternal feeding self-efficacy may be key for healthcare professionals and researchers to improving complementary feeding practices.
父母是儿童早期营养的把关人，他们的喂养方式塑造了孩子的饮食行为。虽然母亲的特征与某些喂养方式有关，但其与辅食喂养饮食的整体质量之间的关系尚未得到探讨。本研究旨在：评估辅食喂养阶段的饮食质量；探讨其与母婴特征的关联；以及评估辅食喂养方式与儿童体重之间的关联。
一项在线横断面调查收集了来自英国的自我选择样本中的母亲的数据，这些母亲的足月健康孩子处于辅食喂养阶段。共有466名母亲完成了一份关于她们的辅食喂养方式、人口统计学、人体测量学、母亲食物新恐惧症发生率、喂养自我效能感、社会支持、产后抑郁和婴儿气质的问卷。使用辅食喂养效用指数（CFUI）评估饮食质量。将儿童分为体重不足、正常体重、超重和肥胖。
大多数参与者报告的饮食质量较高，平均CFUI评分为80%。高饮食质量与依赖英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）关于辅食喂养时间的建议以及母亲在促进健康饮食和限制非推荐食物方面的自我效能感有关。响应式喂养、较长的母乳喂养持续时间、频繁接触水果和多种富含蛋白质的动物性食物与较轻的儿童体重状况显著相关。饮用含糖饮料和延迟引入块状食物与较重的儿童体重状况有关。
本研究对英国儿童样本的辅食喂养饮食质量进行了评估，并探讨了其与母婴属性的关系。提高对当前辅食喂养建议的理解并增强母亲的喂养自我效能感可能是医疗保健专业人员和研究人员改善辅食喂养方式的关键。
