Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Appetite. 2024 Dec 1;203:107675. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107675. Epub 2024 Sep 16.
Child eating behaviour traits are associated with several aspects of dietary intake of pre-school children, however the associations between child eating behaviour traits and overall dietary quality in pre-school children has not been examined. Additionally, it is unknown how these relationships vary by age. This study examines the associations between child eating behaviour traits and pre-school children's dietary quality and whether children's age moderates these associations. This study utilises cross-sectional online survey data collected from mothers (n = 1367) of pre-school aged children (2-5 years) from across Australia. The survey included a validated measure of four child eating behaviour traits and a validated measure of diet quality. Multiple linear regression assessed associations between child eating behaviour traits and dietary quality, including interactions between child eating behaviour traits and child age. The average age of the children was 3.3 years, with 50.2% reported as males. Enjoyment of food was positively associated with dietary quality (B coefficient: 2.51, p < 0.001). Food fussiness and satiety responsiveness were inversely associated with dietary quality (B coefficients: 2.59 and -2.25, respectively, p < 0.001), while food responsiveness was not related to diet quality. Child age moderated associations between food fussiness and dietary quality (B coefficient: 0.38, p = 0.025). The difference in dietary quality between lower and higher food fussiness is most pronounced among 5-year-old children. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that it is important for future interventions aiming to improve dietary quality of pre-school children to target children with lower food enjoyment, higher food fussiness or satiety responsiveness as possible ways to improve child dietary quality. Future interventions should also have a particular focus on strategies to reduce food fussiness for older preschoolers.
儿童饮食行为特征与学龄前儿童饮食摄入的几个方面有关，但儿童饮食行为特征与学龄前儿童整体饮食质量之间的关系尚未得到检验。此外，这些关系如何随年龄变化尚不清楚。本研究调查了儿童饮食行为特征与学龄前儿童饮食质量之间的关系，以及儿童年龄是否调节这些关系。本研究利用了来自澳大利亚各地的学龄前儿童（2-5 岁）母亲（n=1367）的横断面在线调查数据。该调查包括了对四种儿童饮食行为特征的验证性测量和对饮食质量的验证性测量。多元线性回归评估了儿童饮食行为特征与饮食质量之间的关联，包括儿童饮食行为特征与儿童年龄之间的相互作用。儿童的平均年龄为 3.3 岁，其中 50.2%为男性。对食物的享受与饮食质量呈正相关（B 系数：2.51，p<0.001）。挑食和饱腹感反应性与饮食质量呈负相关（B 系数分别为 2.59 和-2.25，p<0.001），而食物反应性与饮食质量无关。儿童年龄调节了挑食与饮食质量之间的关系（B 系数：0.38，p=0.025）。在较低和较高挑食程度之间，饮食质量的差异在 5 岁儿童中最为明显。总之，本研究表明，对于旨在提高学龄前儿童饮食质量的未来干预措施，针对食物享受程度较低、挑食程度较高或饱腹感反应性较高的儿童是改善儿童饮食质量的可能途径。未来的干预措施还应特别关注减少大龄学龄前儿童挑食的策略。
