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1.
A review of the influence of fathers on children's eating behaviours and dietary intake.
Rahill, S, Kennedy, A, Kearney, J
Appetite. 2020;:104540
Abstract
The role of fathers in child rearing has changed in recent years due to an increase in maternal employment. Despite this, the majority of research has focused on maternal influences and behaviours in relation to child feeding. Therefore, the aims of the narrative review were: 1) to examine the role and responsibility of fathers in child feeding and the factors associated with paternal responsibility in child feeding; 2) to establish how paternal modelling, paternal diets, and paternal feeding practices relate to children's eating behaviours and dietary intake; and 3) to explore the role of maternal perceptions on paternal feeding roles, as well as how maternal and paternal behaviours relate to children's dietary intake. Firstly, given the limited research, no conclusions can be drawn in relation to the factors associated with fathers' roles. An association with child's gender and age as potential drivers of paternal mealtime behaviours was observed, however more longitudinal research is necessary. In addition, research suggests that the majority of fathers have some responsibility in feeding their child, however, mothers are the primary caregiver and somewhat dictate the level of responsibilities fathers have. Interactions during mealtimes between fathers and their child can both positively and negatively influence children's long-term eating behaviours. Inconsistencies in the literature still prevail in terms of whether the child's diet resembles his fathers or mothers more, however, overall family resemblance is evident. Differences exist between maternal & paternal feeding practices with more coercive feeding practices reported by fathers, suggesting they are a more authoritarian figure during mealtimes than mothers. Overall, it is clear that interventions need to adopt a whole-family approach when tackling children's lifestyle behaviours in order to address the differential influence of both parents.
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2.
Psychological Correlates of Sedentary Screen Time Behaviour Among Children and Adolescents: a Narrative Review.
Mougharbel, F, Goldfield, GS
Current obesity reports. 2020;(4):493-511
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aims of this narrative review were to (1) synthesise the literature on the relationship between screen time and important mental health outcomes and (2) examine the underpinning factors that can influence this association. RECENT FINDINGS Paralleling the rise of mental health issues in children and adolescents is the ubiquitous overuse of screens, but it is unclear how screen time is related to important mental health outcomes and whether this association differs by gender, age and screen type. METHODS Medline/PubMed, PsychINFO and Google Scholar databases were searched on December 2019 for articles published mainly in the last 5 years. The search focused on two main concepts: (i) screen time and (ii) mental health outcomes including anxiety, depression, psychological and psychosocial well-being and body image concerns. RESULTS Sixty studies were included in the review. Higher levels of screen time were associated with more severe depressive symptoms. We found moderate evidence for an association between screen time and poor psychological well-being and body dissatisfaction especially among females. Relationships between screen time and anxiety were inconsistent and somewhat gender specific. Social media use was consistently associated with poorer mental health. Higher levels of screen time are generally associated with poorer mental health outcomes, but associations are influenced by screen type, gender and age. Practitioners, parents, policy makers and researchers should collectively identify and evaluate strategies to reduce screen time, or to use screens more adaptively, as a means of promoting better mental health among children and adolescents.
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3.
Associations Between Cool and Hot Executive Functions and Children's Eating Behavior.
Tan, CC, Lumeng, JC
Current nutrition reports. 2018;(2):21-28
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Studies on obesogenic eating behaviors in young children have mainly focused on the roles of family environment and parental behaviors. However, intrapersonal characteristics, particularly executive functions, have recently gained more attention in the literature. Therefore, herein we review work on children's executive functions (EFs), particularly the roles of cold and hot executive functions on children's obesogenic eating behaviors. RECENT FINDINGS Most work examining the associations between EF and obesogenic eating among children has focused on the cool EF, particularly inhibitory control/impulsivity. Findings have consistently showed that deficits in inhibitory control/impulsivity are associated with overeating and food responsiveness. The roles of the other two cool EFs (attention control/shifting and working memory) and hot EF (delay of gratification and affective decision-making) in contributing to child obesogenic eating are less clear. For instance, the association between children's performance on delay of gratification tasks and obesogenic eating varies depending on whether food or non-food rewards were used; children with poorer delay of gratification in non-food tasks had more obesogenic eating, although children with poorer delay of gratification in food tasks had less obesogenic eating. Deficits in inhibitory control/impulsivity are associated with more obesogenic eating, suggesting that improving children's inhibition may reduce overeating and childhood obesity. The roles of other cool and hot components of EFs in contributing to obesogenic eating require further study.
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4.
Effectiveness of school food environment policies on children's dietary behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Micha, R, Karageorgou, D, Bakogianni, I, Trichia, E, Whitsel, LP, Story, M, Peñalvo, JL, Mozaffarian, D
PloS one. 2018;(3):e0194555
Abstract
BACKGROUND School food environment policies may be a critical tool to promote healthy diets in children, yet their effectiveness remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To systematically review and quantify the impact of school food environment policies on dietary habits, adiposity, and metabolic risk in children. METHODS We systematically searched online databases for randomized or quasi-experimental interventions assessing effects of school food environment policies on children's dietary habits, adiposity, or metabolic risk factors. Data were extracted independently and in duplicate, and pooled using inverse-variance random-effects meta-analysis. Habitual (within+outside school) dietary intakes were the primary outcome. Heterogeneity was explored using meta-regression and subgroup analysis. Funnel plots, Begg's and Egger's test evaluated potential publication bias. RESULTS From 6,636 abstracts, 91 interventions (55 in US/Canada, 36 in Europe/New Zealand) were included, on direct provision of healthful foods/beverages (N = 39 studies), competitive food/beverage standards (N = 29), and school meal standards (N = 39) (some interventions assessed multiple policies). Direct provision policies, which largely targeted fruits and vegetables, increased consumption of fruits by 0.27 servings/d (n = 15 estimates (95%CI: 0.17, 0.36)) and combined fruits and vegetables by 0.28 servings/d (n = 16 (0.17, 0.40)); with a slight impact on vegetables (n = 11; 0.04 (0.01, 0.08)), and no effects on total calories (n = 6; -56 kcal/d (-174, 62)). In interventions targeting water, habitual intake was unchanged (n = 3; 0.33 glasses/d (-0.27, 0.93)). Competitive food/beverage standards reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake by 0.18 servings/d (n = 3 (-0.31, -0.05)); and unhealthy snacks by 0.17 servings/d (n = 2 (-0.22, -0.13)), without effects on total calories (n = 5; -79 kcal/d (-179, 21)). School meal standards (mainly lunch) increased fruit intake (n = 2; 0.76 servings/d (0.37, 1.16)) and reduced total fat (-1.49%energy; n = 6 (-2.42, -0.57)), saturated fat (n = 4; -0.93%energy (-1.15, -0.70)) and sodium (n = 4; -170 mg/d (-242, -98)); but not total calories (n = 8; -38 kcal/d (-137, 62)). In 17 studies evaluating adiposity, significant decreases were generally not identified; few studies assessed metabolic factors (blood lipids/glucose/pressure), with mixed findings. Significant sources of heterogeneity or publication bias were not identified. CONCLUSIONS Specific school food environment policies can improve targeted dietary behaviors; effects on adiposity and metabolic risk require further investigation. These findings inform ongoing policy discussions and debates on best practices to improve childhood dietary habits and health.
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Effects of prenatal iron status on child neurodevelopment and behavior: A systematic review.
Iglesias, L, Canals, J, Arija, V
Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. 2018;(10):1604-1614
Abstract
Iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia are the main worldwide nutritional disorders. A good level of prenatal iron is essential for the correct child neurodevelopment but this association has been poorly investigated. To gather the scientific evidence on the relation between prenatal iron status and child neurodevelopment. To emphasize the importance of personalize the dose and type of supplementation. Wide search strategy was performed in electronic databases for English language articles with no limitations as regards the language or date of publication. Additional studies were selected by hand search. The inclusion criteria were pregnant women without high-risk pregnancy and their children as study population and neurodevelopment as the main outcome. Six RCTs and 13 observational studies were included. The majority concluded that deficit or excess iron during pregnancy injures the mental and psychomotor development of child. Other authors found no association of low iron level with troubles in neurodevelopment, recommended multi-micronutrients instead of iron alone and/or showed inconsistent results. Both iron deficiency as its excess are harmful for the child neurodevelopment. The prenatal iron supplementation should be adjusted for each woman, taking into account the iron stores, some genetic mutation and other health habits.
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6.
The Effect of Advertising on Children and Adolescents.
Lapierre, MA, Fleming-Milici, F, Rozendaal, E, McAlister, AR, Castonguay, J
Pediatrics. 2017;(Suppl 2):S152-S156
Abstract
In ∼100 years, marketing to children went from a severely frowned upon practice to an integral part of growing up as companies came to realize that investing in marketing to children and adolescents provides excellent immediate and future dividends. Each year, enormous sums of money are spent to reach this valuable audience because children and adolescents spend billions on their own purchases, influence family decisions about what to buy, and promise a potential lifetime of brand loyalty. The channels to reach youth have grown, and marketers are increasingly using them, often blurring the distinction between entertainment and advertising. Because advertising to children and adolescents has become ubiquitous, researchers who study its influence raise significant concerns about the practice, especially as it relates to dietary behavior, family conflict, marketer tactics, and children's potential vulnerability as an audience. In this review by the Workgroup on Marketing and Advertising, we highlight the state of the research in this area and suggest that more research needs to be conducted on understanding the following: the effects of advertising exposure, how psychological development affects children's responses to marketing, the problems associated with advertising in newer media, and how researchers, parents, and practitioners might be able to mitigate the most deleterious advertising effects. We then present avenues of future research along with recommendations for key stakeholders.
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Non-Responsive Feeding Practices, Unhealthy Eating Behaviors, and Risk of Child Overweight and Obesity in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review.
Lindsay, AC, Sitthisongkram, S, Greaney, ML, Wallington, SF, Ruengdej, P
International journal of environmental research and public health. 2017;(4)
Abstract
Childhood obesity is increasing dramatically in many Southeast Asian countries, and becoming a significant public health concern. This review summarizes the evidence on associations between parental feeding practices, child eating behaviors, and the risk of overweight and obesity in Southeast Asian children 2-12 years old. We systematically searched five electronic academic/research (PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest Nursing, Medline, and CINAHL) databases using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement for peer-reviewed studies published in English between January 2000 and December 2016. Fourteen observational studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Reviewed studies were examined separately for preschool- and school-aged children and revealed that non-responsive parental feeding practices and unhealthy child eating behaviors were associated with a risk of child overweight and obesity in several Southeast Asian countries. Nonetheless, due to the small number of identified studies (n = 14) and because only about half of the Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia) were represented (5/11) in the examined studies, additional research is needed to further understand the factors associated with childhood obesity among children in Southeast Asia to develop interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of Southeast Asian countries and designed to address practices and behaviors that may promote childhood obesity.
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8.
The influence of parental practices on child promotive and preventive food consumption behaviors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Yee, AZ, Lwin, MO, Ho, SS
The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity. 2017;(1):47
Abstract
BACKGROUND The family is an important social context where children learn and adopt eating behaviors. Specifically, parents play the role of health promoters, role models, and educators in the lives of children, influencing their food cognitions and choices. This study attempts to systematically review empirical studies examining the influence of parents on child food consumption behavior in two contexts: one promotive in nature (e.g., healthy food), and the other preventive in nature (e.g., unhealthy food). METHODS From a total of 6,448 titles extracted from Web of Science, ERIC, PsycINFO and PubMED, seventy eight studies met the inclusion criteria for a systematic review, while thirty seven articles contained requisite statistical information for meta-analysis. The parental variables extracted include active guidance/education, restrictive guidance/rule-making, availability, accessibility, modeling, pressure to eat, rewarding food consumption, rewarding with verbal praise, and using food as reward. The food consumption behaviors examined include fruits and vegetables consumption, sugar-sweetened beverages, and snack consumption. RESULTS Results indicate that availability (Healthy: r = .24, p < .001; Unhealthy: r = .34, p < .001) and parental modeling effects (Healthy: r = .32, p < .001; Unhealthy: r = .35, p < .001) show the strongest associations with both healthy and unhealthy food consumption. In addition, the efficacy of some parenting practices might be dependent on the food consumption context and the age of the child. For healthy foods, active guidance/education might be more effective (r = .15, p < .001). For unhealthy foods, restrictive guidance/rule-making might be more effective (r = -.11, p < .01). For children 7 and older, restrictive guidance/rule-making could be more effective in preventing unhealthy eating (r = - .20, p < .05). For children 6 and younger, rewarding with verbal praise can be more effective in promoting healthy eating (r = .26, p < .001) and in preventing unhealthy eating (r = - .08, p < .01). CONCLUSIONS This study illustrates that a number of parental behaviors are strong correlates of child food consumption behavior. More importantly, this study highlights 3 main areas in parental influence of child food consumption that are understudied: (1) active guidance/education, (2) psychosocial mediators, and (3) moderating influence of general parenting styles.
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Barriers and facilitators to young children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour: a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative literature.
Hesketh, KR, Lakshman, R, van Sluijs, EMF
Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2017;(9):987-1017
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Abstract
Positive activity behaviours (i.e. higher physical activity [PA]/lower sedentary behaviour [SB]) are beneficial from infancy, yet evidence suggests that young children (0- to 6-year-olds) are relatively inactive. To better understand the perceived influences on these behaviours and to aid intervention development, this paper systematically synthesizes the extensive qualitative literature regarding perceived barriers and facilitators to PA and SB in young children (0-6 years old). A search of eight electronic databases (July 2016) identified 43 papers for inclusion. Data extraction and evidence synthesis were conducted using thematic content analysis, underpinned by the socio-ecological model (i.e. individual, interpersonal, community, organizational and policy levels). Parents, childcare providers and children perceived seven broad themes to be important for PA and SB, including the child; the home; out-of-home childcare; parent-childcare provider interactions; environmental factors; safety; and weather. Each theme mapped onto between one and five levels of the socio-ecological model; barriers and facilitators at the interpersonal level (e.g. parents, care providers and family) were most frequently cited, reflecting the important (perceived) role adults/peers play in shaping young children's behaviours. We provide an overarching framework to explain PA and SB in early childhood. We also highlight where gaps in the current literature exist (e.g. from male carers; in developing countries; and barriers and facilitators in the environmental and policy domains) and where future quantitative work may focus to provide novel insights about children's activity behaviours (e.g. safety and weather).
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Diet and ADHD, Reviewing the Evidence: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses of Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials Evaluating the Efficacy of Diet Interventions on the Behavior of Children with ADHD.
Pelsser, LM, Frankena, K, Toorman, J, Rodrigues Pereira, R
PloS one. 2017;(1):e0169277
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a debilitating mental health problem hampering the child's development. The underlying causes include both genetic and environmental factors and may differ between individuals. The efficacy of diet treatments in ADHD was recently evaluated in three reviews, reporting divergent and confusing conclusions based on heterogeneous studies and subjects. To address this inconsistency we conducted a systematic review of meta-analyses of double-blind placebo-controlled trials evaluating the effect of diet interventions (elimination and supplementation) on ADHD. METHODS Our literature search resulted in 14 meta-analyses, six of which confined to double-blind placebo-controlled trials applying homogeneous diet interventions, i.e. artificial food color (AFC) elimination, a few-foods diet (FFD) and poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation. Effect sizes (ES) and Confidence intervals (CI) of study outcomes were depicted in a forest plot. I2 was calculated to assess heterogeneity if necessary and additional random effects subgroup meta-regression was conducted if substantial heterogeneity was present. RESULTS The AFC ESs were 0.44 (95% CI: 0.16-0.72, I2 = 11%) and 0.21 (95% CI: -0.02-0.43, I2 = 68%) [parent ratings], 0.08 (95% CI: -0.07-0.24, I2 = 0%) [teacher ratings] and 0.11 (95% CI: -0.13-0.34, I2 = 12%) [observer ratings]. The FFD ESs were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.41-1.19, I2 = 61%) [parent ratings] and 0.51 (95% CI: -0.02-1.04, I2 = 72%) [other ratings], while the PUFA ESs were 0.17 (95% CI: -0.03-0.38, I2 = 38%) [parent ratings], -0.05 (95% CI: -0.27-0.18, I2 = 0%) [teacher ratings] and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.01-0.31, I2 = 0%) [parent and teacher ratings]. Three meta-analyses (two FFD and one AFC) resulted in high I2 without presenting subgroup results. The FFD meta-analyses provided sufficient data to perform subgroup analyses on intervention type, resulting in a decrease of heterogeneity to 0% (diet design) and 37.8% (challenge design). CONCLUSION Considering the small average ESs PUFA supplementation is unlikely to provide a tangible contribution to ADHD treatment, while further research is required for AFC elimination before advising this intervention as ADHD treatment. The average FFD ES is substantial, offering treatment opportunities in subgroups of children with ADHD not responding to or too young for medication. Further FFD research should focus on establishing the underlying mechanisms of food (e.g. incrimination of gut microbiota) to simplify the FFD approach in children with ADHD.