{"title":"Nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in the post COVID-19 era: a qualitative study.","authors":"Hyunjung Lee, Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Conrad Lyford, Stephanie Shine","doi":"10.4162/nrp.2023.17.6.1185","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>In the United States, one in every 5 children is obese with greater likelihood in low-income households. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have accelerated disparities in child obesity risk factors, such as poor dietary intake and increased sedentary behaviors, among low-income families because of financial difficulties, social isolation and other struggles. This study reveals insights into nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in West Texas to better understand needs and develop interventions.</p><p><strong>Subjects/methods: </strong>In-depth individual interviews were performed via Zoom among 11 families of children under the age of 3. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to explore 3 areas: changes in (1) dietary intake and (2) sedentary behaviors and (3) families' preferences regarding a parent nutrition education program. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using MaxQDA software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eating together as a family become challenging because of irregular work schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parents stated that their children's dietary habits shifted with an increased consumption of processed foods. Many parents are unable to afford healthful foods and have utilized food and nutrition assistance programs to help feed their families. All families reported that their children's screen time substantially increased compared to the pre-pandemic times. Moreover, the majority of parents did not associate child screen time with an obesity risk, so this area could be of particular interest for future interventions. Meal preparation ideas, remote modality, and early timing were identified as key intervention strategies.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Online nutrition interventions that emphasize the guidelines for child screen time and regular meal routines will be effective and promising tools to reach low-income parents for early childhood health promotion and obesity prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":19232,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Research and Practice","volume":"17 6","pages":"1185-1200"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10694413/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nutrition Research and Practice","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2023.17.6.1185","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/11/13 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NUTRITION & DIETETICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/objectives: In the United States, one in every 5 children is obese with greater likelihood in low-income households. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have accelerated disparities in child obesity risk factors, such as poor dietary intake and increased sedentary behaviors, among low-income families because of financial difficulties, social isolation and other struggles. This study reveals insights into nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in West Texas to better understand needs and develop interventions.
Subjects/methods: In-depth individual interviews were performed via Zoom among 11 families of children under the age of 3. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to explore 3 areas: changes in (1) dietary intake and (2) sedentary behaviors and (3) families' preferences regarding a parent nutrition education program. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using MaxQDA software.
Results: Eating together as a family become challenging because of irregular work schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parents stated that their children's dietary habits shifted with an increased consumption of processed foods. Many parents are unable to afford healthful foods and have utilized food and nutrition assistance programs to help feed their families. All families reported that their children's screen time substantially increased compared to the pre-pandemic times. Moreover, the majority of parents did not associate child screen time with an obesity risk, so this area could be of particular interest for future interventions. Meal preparation ideas, remote modality, and early timing were identified as key intervention strategies.
Conclusions: Online nutrition interventions that emphasize the guidelines for child screen time and regular meal routines will be effective and promising tools to reach low-income parents for early childhood health promotion and obesity prevention.
期刊介绍:
Nutrition Research and Practice (NRP) is an official journal, jointly published by the Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition since 2007. The journal had been published quarterly at the initial stage and has been published bimonthly since 2010.
NRP aims to stimulate research and practice across diverse areas of human nutrition. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed original manuscripts on nutrition biochemistry and metabolism, community nutrition, nutrition and disease management, nutritional epidemiology, nutrition education, foodservice management in the following categories: Original Research Articles, Notes, Communications, and Reviews. Reviews will be received by the invitation of the editors only. Statements made and opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in this Journal represent the views of authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Societies.