Child feeding practices and household food insecurity among low-income mothers in Buenos Aires, Argentina

This qualitative study of low-income mothers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, examines the influence of socio-economic conditions, organizational structures, family relationships, and food insecurity on child feeding practices and weight status. Thirty-eight mothers of preschool children living in urban Buenos Aires participated in four focus group discussions. The results indicated that many mothers were aware that obesity may be detrimental to the child's health, but most of them are unclear about the specific consequences. Maternal employment, family pressures, food insecurity and financial worries seem to influence child feeding practices. These findings have important implications for developing strategies for nutritional assistance that could benefit the health of children and provide opportunities for educational programs that are directed to nutritional awareness in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The right to eat regularly and properly is an obligation of the State and must be implemented taking into account the notion of food sovereignty and respecting the importance of preserving the culture and eating habits of a country and its diverse population groups

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Food Resource Management Skills Modify the Associations Between Household Food Insecurity and Child Feeding Practices in SNAP-Ed Eligible Head Start Families

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa043_102 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 251-251

Author(s):

Muzi Na ◽

Lamis Jomaa ◽

Sally Eagleton ◽

Jennifer Savage

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Head Start ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Resource ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Assistance Program ◽

Child Feeding Practices

Abstract Objectives To explore how food security (FS) and food resource management (FRM), strategies to stretch limited food resource dollars, are associated with child feeding practices in low-income preschoolers. Methods In a cross-sectional sample of 364 Head Start households, caregivers completed the 18-item FS module, 6-item FRM behavior subscale, Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (e.g., monitoring, restriction, food as reward), and Perceived Stress scale. Households were categorized into four food environment subgroups: FS/good FRM, FS/poor FRM, food insecure/good FRM, and food insecure/poor FRM. Multivariable linear regressions were applied to examine if feeding practices differed across FS-FRM categories, adjusting for demographic and socio-economic covariates that differed significantly by FS-FRM subgroups (race, SNAP participation, parent BMI status). For all models, FS/good FRM was the referent. Lastly, we explored the effect of adding perceived stress to the model. on feeding practices. Results 37% of households were food insecure. The use of parent monitoring, modeling, involvement, and food as reward were significantly different by FS-FRM subgroups (all p-values <0.02). After adjusting for covariates, the FS/poor FRM group used less monitoring (–0.48, 95% CI: –0.71, –0.24), modeling (–0.42, 95CI: –0.66, –0.18), and involvement in feeding (–0.56, 95% CI: –0.80, –0.31). A similar pattern emerged for the food insecure/poor FRM group compared to referent. The use of food as reward was higher in the FS/poor FRM (0.29, 95CI: 0.03, 0.55), food insecure/good FRM (0.39, 95CI: 0.09, 0.70) and food insecure/poor FRM groups (0.33, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.64). These differences observed in feeding practices became insignificant in all but one food insecure subgroup once perceived stress was added to the model. Conclusions Suboptimal child feeding is evident in low-income caregivers with poor FRM skills with or without food insecurity. Promoting FRM skills in addition to addressing FI and stress could potentially synergistically improve child feeding practices in low-income households. Funding Sources This study was funded by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the PA Department of Human Services (DHS). This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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Low-income mothers' feeding goals predict observed home mealtime and child feeding practices

Child Care Health and Development ◽

10.1111/cch.12396 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 934-940 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. H. Pesch ◽

A. L. Miller ◽

D. P. Appugliese ◽

N. Kaciroti ◽

K. L. Rosenblum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Low Income Mothers

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Low-Income Mothers’ Misconceptions about Child Feeding Practices that May Lead to Obesity: Preliminary Findings

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.jneb.2017.05.162 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (7) ◽

pp. S92-S93

Author(s):

Erika Lannaman ◽

Debra Palmer-Keenan

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Low Income Mothers

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Obesity, Parent Perceptions, Child Feeding, and Food Security in First Generation Hispanic Families

Californian Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.32398/cjhp.v11i3.1545 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 86-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jill Berg ◽

Susan Tiso ◽

Merry Grasska ◽

Edwin Tan ◽

Yasmin Chowdhury ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Weight Status ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Hispanic Culture ◽

Weight Perceptions ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Southern California School ◽

Child Bmi ◽

Unhealthy Weight

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the relationships between parent and child weight status, parental perceptions of weight, child feeding, food insecurity, and acculturation in Hispanic preschoolers and their parents in a southern California school district. Methods: Eighty-five parent-child dyads participated. Height and weight, parental weight perceptions, child feeding, acculturation, and food insecurity data were obtained. Results: Eighty-five percent of parents were born in Mexico, although 94% of their children were born in the US. Eighty percent of parents and 43% of the children were overweight or obese. None of the constructs measured predicted child BMI, although parents significantly underestimated their children's body size. Parents' BMI correlated positively with restrictive child feeding practices, and obese parents pressured their children to eat more than did non-obese parents. Conclusions: Obesity exists disproportionately in Hispanics compared to other ethnic populations. While factors predicting children's weight status are difficult to identify, parents' weight, perceptions of child's weight, adherence to the Hispanic culture, and food insecurity do appear to impact parental concerns and parenting behaviors, particularly restrictive and pressuring-to-eat behaviors. Parental underestimation of their children's weight may hinder behavior change if concerns about unhealthy weight are inaccurate. Interventions should consider parental weight, weight perceptions, and feeding practices.

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BRAZILIAN MOTHERS’ BELIEFS, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES RELATED TO CHILD WEIGHT STATUS AND EARLY FEEDING WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF NUTRITION TRANSITION

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932008003039 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 21-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

ANA CRISTINA LINDSAY ◽

MARCIA TAVARES MACHADO ◽

KATARINA M. SUSSNER ◽

CARY K. HARDWICK ◽

LIGIA REGINA FRANCO SANSIGOLO KERR ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Weight Status ◽

Nutrition Transition ◽

Organizational Factors ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Food Assistance ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Child Weight ◽

North East ◽

Child Feeding Practices

SummarySummary. With the rapid pace of the nutrition transition worldwide, understanding influences of child feeding practices within a context characterized by the co-existence of overweight and undernutrition in the same population has increasing importance. This qualitative study describes Brazilian mothers’ child feeding practices and their perceptions of their association with child weight status and explores the role of socioeconomic, cultural and organizational factors on these relationships. Forty-one women enrolled in the Family Health/Community Health Workers Programme were selected from rural, urban, coastal and indigenous areas in Ceara State, north-east Brazil, to participate in four focus group discussions. Content analysis identified fourteen emergent themes showing mothers’ child feeding practices in this setting were influenced by economic resources, mothers’ immediate social support networks (e.g. neighbours and family members) and participation in nutrition assistance programmes. Child malnutrition was the most common nutritional concern; nevertheless, mothers were aware of the negative health consequences of obesity but misunderstood its causes (e.g. foods filled with fat would make a person fat; others thought that birth control pills and stimulants given to children were causes of obesity); several reported their own struggles with overweight. Food assistance programmes emerged as an important influence on children’s dietary adequacy, especially among mothers describing dire economic situations. The findings have implications for targeting food assistance as well as health and nutrition education strategies in low-income families undergoing the nutrition transition in north-east Brazil.

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Impact of COVID-19 on household food insecurity and interlinkages with child feeding practices and coping strategies in Uttar Pradesh, India: a longitudinal community-based study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048738 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. e048738

Author(s):

Phuong Hong Nguyen ◽

Shivani Kachwaha ◽

Anjali Pant ◽

Lan M Tran ◽

Sebanti Ghosh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Uttar Pradesh ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Community Based ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Household Food ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Food Insecure Households ◽

And Coping

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has profound negative impacts on people’s lives, but little is known on its effect on household food insecurity (HFI) in poor setting resources. This study assessed changes in HFI during the pandemic and examined the interlinkages between HFI with child feeding practices and coping strategies.DesignA longitudinal survey in December 2019 (in-person) and August 2020 (by phone).SettingCommunity-based individuals from 26 blocks in 2 districts in Uttar Pradesh, India.ParticipantsMothers with children <2 years (n=569).Main outcomes and analysesWe measured HFI by using the HFI Access Scale and examined the changes in HFI during the pandemic using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests. We then assessed child feeding practices and coping strategies by HFI status using multivariable regression models.ResultsHFI increased sharply from 21% in December 2019 to 80% in August 2020, with 62% households changing the status from food secure to insecure over this period. Children in newly or consistently food-insecure households were less likely to consume a diverse diet (adjusted OR, AOR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.95 and AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.12, respectively) compared with those in food-secure households. Households with consistent food insecurity were more likely to engage in coping strategies such as reducing other essential non-food expenditures (AOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.09 to 4.24), borrowing money to buy food (AOR 4.3, 95% CI 2.31 to 7.95) or selling jewellery (AOR 5.0, 95% CI 1.74 to 14.27) to obtain foods. Similar findings were observed for newly food-insecure households.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdown measures posed a significant risk to HFI which in turn had implications for child feeding practices and coping strategies. Our findings highlight the need for further investment in targeted social protection strategies and safety nets as part of multisectoral solutions to improve HFI during and after COVID-19.

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