Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, District Columbia, USA.
Matern Child Nutr. 2023 Jan;19(1):e13435. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13435. Epub 2022 Nov 8.
Improving diet quality of preschool children is challenging in countries undergoing food environment and nutrition transition. However, few studies have sought to understand how mothers in these countries decide what and how to feed their children. This study aims to explore maternal experiences, perspectives and beliefs when making food choice decisions for preschool children in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in northern Vietnam. Two focus group discussions and 24 in-depth interviews were carried out and analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that mothers across the urban-rural spectrum shared the intention to feed children safe, nutritious food for better health and weight gain while satisfying child food preferences to improve appetite and eating enjoyment. These food choice intentions were embedded within family food traditions, whereby mothers emphasised nutritious food and adopted strict feeding styles during lunch and dinner but were flexible and accommodating of child preferences during breakfast and side meals. These intentions were also embedded within the physical food environment, which provided a mix of healthy and unhealthy food through informal food retailers. Despite these intentions, mothers faced financial constraints and difficulties in managing children's refusal to chew, changes in eating mood and strong eating temperament. These findings support policies to limit the presence of unhealthy food in informal food retail and encourage meal-specific feeding strategies to help children enjoy nutritious food, transition from soft to textured food and become more cooperative during mealtime.
改善学龄前儿童的饮食质量在经历食物环境和营养转型的国家是具有挑战性的。然而，很少有研究试图了解这些国家的母亲如何决定为孩子提供什么和如何喂养孩子。本研究旨在探索越南北部城市、城乡结合部和农村地区的母亲在为学龄前儿童做出食物选择决定时的经验、观点和信念。通过焦点小组讨论和 24 次深入访谈进行了研究，并使用主题分析进行了分析。研究结果表明，城市-农村地区的母亲都有让孩子食用安全、营养的食物以促进健康和体重增加的意愿，同时满足孩子的食物偏好以提高食欲和饮食享受。这些食物选择意图根植于家庭饮食传统，母亲强调营养丰富的食物，并在午餐和晚餐时采取严格的喂养方式，但在早餐和小吃时较为灵活和包容孩子的偏好。这些意图也根植于物质食物环境中，通过非正式的食品零售商提供了健康和不健康的食物混合。尽管有这些意图，母亲还是面临着经济限制以及孩子拒绝咀嚼、饮食情绪变化和强烈的饮食气质的困难。这些发现支持了限制非正式食品零售商中不健康食品存在的政策，并鼓励采用特定于膳食的喂养策略，以帮助孩子享受营养丰富的食物，从软食过渡到有质地的食物，并在进餐时更加合作。
