Pregnant Adolescents, Beliefs About Healthy Eating, Factors that Influence Food Choices, and Nutrition Education Preferences

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy J. Wise
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 1440-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharifah Intan Zainun Sharif Ishak ◽  
Yit Siew Chin ◽  
Mohd Nasir Mohd Taib ◽  
Zalilah Mohd Shariff

AbstractObjective:To explore the concepts of healthy eating and to identify the barriers and facilitating factors for dietary behaviour change in adolescents.Design:A qualitative study involving twelve focus groups.Setting:Two secondary schools in the district of Hulu Langat in Selangor, Malaysia.Participants:Seventy-two adolescents aged 13–14 years.Results:Adolescents had some understanding regarding healthy eating and were able to relate healthy eating with the concepts of balance and moderation. The adolescents’ perceptions of healthy and unhealthy eating were based on food types and characteristics, cooking methods and eating behaviours. Facilitators for healthy eating were parents’ control on adolescents’ food choices, feeling concern about own health and body, being influenced by other’s health condition, and knowledge of healthy or unhealthy eating. On the other hand, barriers for healthy eating were the availability of food at home and school, taste and characteristics of foods, and lack of knowledge on healthy or unhealthy foods.Conclusions:The findings contribute to a better understanding of the adolescents’ concept of healthy eating, as well as the facilitators and barriers to practising healthy eating. Future interventions should include a method of promoting the immediate benefits of healthy eating, the way to cope with environmental barriers for healthy eating, and increasing the availability of healthy food choices at home and in the school environment. The health and nutrition education programmes should also focus on educating parents, as they can be role models for adolescents to practise more healthful behaviours.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti Dhuria ◽  
Wendy Lawrence ◽  
Sarah Crozier ◽  
Cyrus Cooper ◽  
Janis Baird ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives To examine women’s perceptions of factors that influence their food shopping choices, particularly in relation to store layout, and their views on ways that supermarkets could support healthier choices. Design This qualitative cross-sectional study used semi-structured telephone interviews to ask participants the reasons for their choice of supermarket and factors in-store that prompted their food selections. The actions supermarkets, governments and customers could take to encourage healthier food choices were explored with women. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes. Setting Six supermarkets across England. Participants Twenty women customers aged 18–45 years. Results Participants had a median age of 39.5 years (IQR: 35.1, 42.3), a median weekly grocery spend of £70 (IQR: 50, 88), and 44% had left school aged 16 years. Women reported that achieving value for money, feeling hungry, tired, or stressed, and meeting family members’ food preferences influenced their food shopping choices. The physical environment was important, including product quality and variety, plus ease of accessing the store or products in-store. Many participants described how they made unintended food selections as a result of prominent placement of unhealthy products in supermarkets, even if they adopted more conscious approaches to food shopping (i.e. written or mental lists). Participants described healthy eating as a personal responsibility, but some stated that governments and supermarkets could be more supportive. Conclusions This study highlighted that in-store environments can undermine intentions to purchase and consume healthy foods. Creating healthier supermarket environments could reduce the burden of personal responsibility for healthy eating, by making healthier choices easier. Future research could explore the interplay of personal, societal and commercial responsibility for food choices and health status.


Author(s):  
Jane Dai ◽  
Jeremy Cone ◽  
Jeff Moher

Abstract Background Making decisions about food is a critical part of everyday life and a principal concern for a number of public health issues. Yet, the mechanisms involved in how people decide what to eat are not yet fully understood. Here, we examined the role of visual attention in healthy eating intentions and choices. We conducted two-alternative forced choice tests of competing food stimuli that paired healthy and unhealthy foods that varied in taste preference. We manipulated their perceptual salience such that, in some cases, one food item was more perceptually salient than the other. In addition, we manipulated the cognitive load and time pressure to test the generalizability of the salience effect. Results Manipulating salience had a powerful effect on choice in all situations; even when an unhealthy but tastier food was presented as an alternative, healthy food options were selected more often when they were perceptually salient. Moreover, in a second experiment, food choices on one trial impacted food choices on subsequent trials; when a participant chose the healthy option, they were more likely to choose a healthy option again on the next trial. Furthermore, robust effects of salience on food choice were observed across situations of high cognitive load and time pressure. Conclusions These results have implications both for understanding the mechanisms of food-related decision-making and for implementing interventions that might make it easier for people to make healthy eating choices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagos Amare Gebreyesus ◽  
Girmatsion Fisseha Abreha ◽  
Sintayehu Degu Besherae ◽  
Merhawit Atsbha Abera ◽  
Abraha Hailu Weldegerima ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Diet is central to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Depending on the stage of the disease at which the recommended diet is initiated, optimal adherence can reduce HbA1c by about 1 to 2%. However, evidence on eating behavior is generally scarce including in Ethiopia. The present study aimed to assess the eating behavior of adults with T2DM in North Ethiopia. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among 421 adults with T2DM from September to November 2019. Socio-demographic variables were collected using structured questionnaires; an asset-based wealth index was used to determine socioeconomic status. Three dimensions of eating behavior were assessed using Likert-type items: food selection, meal planning and calorie recognition. Raw Likert scores in each dimension were transformed to percent scales to maximum (%SM). Participants’ behavior in each dimension was categorized into healthy and unhealthy taking 66.7% SM score as a cutoff. Overall eating behavior was determined by aggregating ranks scored in the three dimensions. Correlates of overall eating behavior were identified using Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression with statistical significance set at P-value < 0.05. Result Only 1% of the participants had overall healthy eating behavior. Yet, overall unhealthy eating was apparent in 54.4%. By dimensions, healthy eating behaviors in food selection, meal planning and calorie recognition were seen in 43.5, 7.4 and 2.9% participants, respectively. Factors that were positively associated with having healthy eating behavior in one dimension relative to unhealthy in all were: receiving nutrition education [AOR 1.73; CI 1.09, 2.74], female gender [AOR 1.78; CI 1.03, 3.08] & being in 26–44 age category [AOR 3.7; CI 1.56, 8.85]. But, being in the poor [AOR 0.42; CI 0.16, 1.32] or average [AOR 0.54; CI 0.19, 1.55] socioeconomic strata were negatively associated. However, only receiving nutrition education [AOR 3.65; CI 1.31, 10.18] was significantly associated with having healthy behavior in two eating dimensions over unhealthy in all. Conclusion In North Ethiopia, the overall eating behavior of adults with T2DM is extremely poor. Diverse and integrated approaches including nutrition education during consultation should be implemented to address the gap.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Fathima Sirasa ◽  
Lana Mitchell ◽  
Aslan Azhar ◽  
Anoma Chandrasekara ◽  
Neil Harris

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention (MCI) on children’s dietary diversity and its impact pathway components of children’s food knowledge and healthy food preferences. Design: A six-week cluster randomised controlled trial with a MCI consisting of child nutrition education plus family engagement, through parental nutrition education, meal preparation and tasting was compared with two groups: single component intervention (SCI) of child nutrition education, and control, conducted during February to July 2018. Preschool centres were randomly assigned to one of the three arms. Children’s food knowledge, healthy food preferences and dietary diversity scores were collected. Intervention effects were analysed using a pre-post analysis and a difference-in-difference model. Setting: Fourteen preschool centres in an urban area of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka Participants: Child-parent dyads of children aged 4-6 years. Final analyses included 306 (for food knowledge and preferences) and 258 (for dietary diversity) dyads. Results: MCI significantly influenced the impact pathways to children’s dietary diversity by increasing children’s food knowledge and healthy food preferences scores by 3.76 and 2.79 (P<0.001) respectively, but not the dietary diversity score (P=0.603), compared to control arm. Relative to SCI, MCI significantly improved children’s food knowledge score by 1.10 (P<0.001), but no significant effects were noted for other outcome variables. Conclusion: Improved food knowledge and preferences require a positive food environment and time to develop into healthy eating behaviours. Research into dietary diversity should broaden to incorporate the contextual roles of the home and general food environments to more completely understand food choices of children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo C. Noronha ◽  
Monique I. A. F. Santos ◽  
Adrianny A. Santos ◽  
Lizia G. A. Corrente ◽  
Rúbia K. N. Fernandes ◽  
...  

Nutrition education is one of the factors that may help to promote behavior change and therefore may improve the dietary habits of adolescent soccer players. However, information about the relationship between nutrition knowledge (NK) and the dietary behavior of these athletes is scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the eating habits of adolescent soccer players and analyse the correlations among dietary intake and NK. Seventy-three Brazilian adolescent soccer players (aged 14–19 years), from four professional clubs, underwent anthropometric evaluation and completed 3-day food records. Misreporting of energy intake was evaluated and the dietary intake data were energy-adjusted and compared with recommendations for athletes and dietary reference intakes. The athletes also answered a questionnaire about barriers for healthy eating and a nutrition knowledge test divided into three sections: Basic Nutrition Knowledge (BNK), Sports Nutrition Knowledge (SNK), and Food Pyramid Nutrition Knowledge (FPNK). The participants showed a low NK (54.6%) and an inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy, carbohydrates, and micronutrients. A positive correlation was found between the ingestion of phosphorus and FPNK as well as among calcium and both SNK and Total NK (p<0.05). Sodium intake was negatively correlated with all categories of the NK test (p<0.05). The adolescents reported that the principal barriers for adopting a healthy diet were the lack of willpower and a busy lifestyle. In this context, nutrition education is recommended and should also provide practicable healthy eating goals according to athletes´ lifestyle as well as target motivational barriers to increase adherence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 150-150
Author(s):  
Sarah Lee ◽  
Tammie S Choi ◽  
Nicole Kellow ◽  
Catherine Huggins

Abstract Objectives Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is disproportionally greater in Chinese immigrants in Australia compared with in China. Dietary acculturation is implicated as a CVD risk factor. This study aimed to explored Chinese immigrants’ perspectives on how and why their diets change post migration. Methods An exploratory qualitative interview study was undertaken with adult Chinese migrants who had been living in Australia for less than 10 years. Semi-structured interview questions were designed to draw out participants’ experience, emotions and thoughts of dietary change. Interviews were conducted via Zoom in participants’ preferred language (Mandarin or English). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and translated into English for analysis. A constructivist approach was adopted to thematically analyse the interviews. Results A total of 11 participants were interviewed (n = 3 males and n = 8 females) and ranged in age from 22–68 years old with length of residence in Australia ranging from 1–8 years. Key themes pertaining to how and why dietary changes that occur post migration are: that breakfast is the first meal to change from Chinese to Western style, convenience is one of the primary drivers of change in dietary habits, dinner is most frequently maintained in Chinese style, cultural identity is an important influence on dietary habits, and awareness of dietary change among Chinese immigrants is low as evidenced through statements such as “not much has changed” when asked about differences in their diet, but further probing identified that their post migration diets were quite different from their diets in China. Participants also reported a lack of general healthy eating knowledge and lack of nutrition education from China. Conclusions Though diets of Chinese immigrants to Australia change post migration, particularly in relation to breakfast, due to convenience, awareness of this change is low. Low awareness of dietary change along with lack of knowledge relating to healthy eating, could be a mechanism for adoption of unhealthy dietary patterns that may contribute to increased chronic disease risk for Chinese immigrants over time. Funding Sources No funding to declare.


Author(s):  
ARIESKA MALIA NOVIA PUTRI ◽  
DIAN NOVITA CHANDRA ◽  
RETNO ASTI WERDHANI ◽  
SAPTAWATI BARDOSONO

Objective: Nutrition in pregnant women influences fetal and maternal health. Nutrition education is used to improve the nutritional status of pregnant women, but currently, there are no guidelines available for this demographic in Indonesia. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to identify topics relevant to healthy eating in pregnant women in Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: The mixed-methods approach included an online survey to understand the problems (relevant to healthy eating) that pregnant women face and the subjects that they lack information about and a review of the relevant literature. The information obtained from both sources was analyzed by a panel of experts with the multi-step Delphi technique, and a list of relevant topics was created. Results: The study was conducted from April to September 2019 and included 37 pregnant women and 10 experts in nutrition and obstetrics-gynecology. The 13 relevant topics identified were: (1) importance of healthy eating during pregnancy; (2) food groups and serving sizes; (3) nutrition requirements during pregnancy and use of multivitamins/supplements; (4) foods to be restricted or avoided; (5) substances to be restricted or avoided; (6) weight gain during pregnancy; (7) physical activity requirements; (8) tips for ensuring the safety of food; (9) menu containing healthy foods for pregnant women; (10) pregnancy problems related to eating patterns and solutions; (11) healthy eating tips for women with special conditions; (12) myths and facts about eating patterns during pregnancy; and (13) healthy eating for lactation. Conclusion: These topics would be useful for the creation of nutritional education material for pregnant women in Indonesia.


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