Dataset Information

Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children.

ABSTRACT: Caregivers are responsible for the type and amount of food young children are served. However, it remains unclear what considerations caregivers make when serving snacks to children. The aim of the study was to explore mothers' decisions and portion control strategies during snack preparation in the home environment. Forty mothers of children aged 24-48 months participated in the study. Mothers prepared five snack foods for themselves and their child whilst verbalizing their actions and thoughts. Mothers were then asked about their portion size decisions in a semi-structured interview. Transcripts were imported into NVivo and analyzed thematically. Three key themes were identified: (1) portion size considerations, (2) portion control methods, and (3) awareness and use of portion size recommendations. Transient, food-related situational influences influenced mothers and disrupted planning and portion control. Food packaging and dishware size were used as visual cues for portion control; however, these vary widely in their size, thus emphasizing mothers' uncertainty regarding appropriate portion sizes. Mothers called for portion size information to be accessible, child-centered, and simple. These findings reveal multiple considerations when deciding on the correct snack portion sizes for children. These decisions are complex and vary across situations and time, and according to the types of snacks offered.

SUBMITTER: Reale S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6950145 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children.

Reale Sophie S Marr Colette C Cecil Joanne E JE Hetherington Marion M MM Caton Samantha J SJ

Nutrients 20191209 12

Caregivers are responsible for the type and amount of food young children are served. However, it remains unclear what considerations caregivers make when serving snacks to children. The aim of the study was to explore mothers' decisions and portion control strategies during snack preparation in the home environment. Forty mothers of children aged 24-48 months participated in the study. Mothers prepared five snack foods for themselves and their child whilst verbalizing their actions and thoughts ...[more]

PMID: 31835341

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAlthough short-term studies have found that serving larger portions of food increases intake in preschool children, it is unknown whether this portion size effect persists over a longer period or whether energy intake is moderated through self-regulation.ObjectivesWe tested whether the portion size effect is sustained in preschool children across 5 consecutive days, a period thought to be sufficient for regulatory systems to respond to the overconsumption of energy.MethodsWith the use of a crossover design, over 2 periods we served the same 5 daily menus to 46 children aged 3-5 y in their childcare centers. In 1 period, all foods and milk were served in baseline portions, and in the other period, all portions were increased by 50%. The served items were weighed to determine intake.ResultsIncreasing the portion size of all foods and milk by 50% increased daily consumption: weighed intake increased by a mean ± SEM of 143 ± 21 g/d (16%) and energy intake increased by 167 ± 22 kcal/d (18%; both P < 0.0001). The trajectories of intake by weight and energy across the 5-day period were linear and the slopes did not differ between portion conditions (both P > 0.13), indicating that there were sustained increases in intake from larger portions without compensatory changes over time. Children differed in their response to increased portions: those with higher weight status, lower ratings for satiety responsiveness, or higher ratings for food responsiveness had greater increases in intake from larger portions (all P < 0.03).ConclusionsThis demonstration that preschool children failed to adjust their intake during prolonged exposure to larger portions challenges the suggestion that their self-regulatory behavior is sufficient to counter perturbations in energy intake. Furthermore, overconsumption from large portions may play a role in the development of overweight and obesity, as the magnitude of the effect was greater in children of higher weight status. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02963987.

Project description:People typically eat more from large portions of food than from small portions. An explanation that has often been given for this so-called portion size effect is that the portion size acts as a social norm and as such communicates how much is appropriate to eat. In this paper, we tested this explanation by examining whether manipulating the relevance of the portion size as a social norm changes the portion size effect, as assessed by prospective consumption decisions. We conducted one pilot experiment and one full experiment in which participants respectively indicated how much they would eat or serve themselves from a given amount of different foods. In the pilot (N = 63), we manipulated normative relevance by allegedly basing the portion size on the behavior of either students of the own university (in-group) or of another university (out-group). In the main experiment (N = 321), we told participants that either a minority or majority of people similar to them approved of the portion size. Results show that in both experiments, participants expected to serve themselves and to eat more from larger than from smaller portions. As expected, however, the portion size effect was less pronounced when the reference portions were allegedly based on the behavior of an out-group (pilot) or approved only by a minority (main experiment). These findings suggest that the portion size indeed provides normative information, because participants were less influenced by it if it communicated the behaviors or values of a less relevant social group. In addition, in the main experiment, the relation between portion size and the expected amount served was partially mediated by the amount that was considered appropriate, suggesting that concerns about eating an appropriate amount indeed play a role in the portion size effect. However, since the portion size effect was weakened but not eliminated by the normative relevance manipulations and since mediation was only partial, other mechanisms may also play a role.

Dataset Information

Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children.

Publications

Maternal Decisions on Portion Size and Portion Control Strategies for Snacks in Preschool Children.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets