Assessment of preferences and frequency of milk and selected dairy products consumption by mothers and their children aged 1 to 3 years.

Abstract

Background: Early childhood is a time of developing eating habits and taste preferences, which is most influenced by the family environment. Milk and dairy products play an important role in the diet of post-infant children, as they provide many nutrients that condition the proper growth and development of the young body.

Objective: Assessment of the preferences for milk and selected dairy products and the frequencies of their consumption by mothers and their children aged 1 to 3 years.

Material and methods: The study was conducted in 2019 in a group of women (n=94) aged 20-40 years who have a child aged 1-3 years and do not exclude milk and dairy products from their own or their child's diet. The study applied the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method using a survey including food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed on the basis of the Dietary Habits and Nutrition Beliefs Questionnaire (KomPAN) for research on dietary views and habits and questions about the preferences of mothers and their children regarding milk and selected dairy products.

Results: Products that were preferred by mothers and children were also consumed significantly more often in both groups (p≤0.05). Preferences for selected dairy products in the group of mothers and their children were also similar. The most popular products in both groups were: yoghurt, cottage cheese and rennet cheese, with the latter being preferred by significantly more mothers than children (p<0.001). The frequency of consumption of selected dairy products among women and children was similar, namely the most frequently consumed dairy products were: milk, yoghurt and rennet cheese, and the least frequently consumed were buttermilk and kefir.

Conclusions: Considering the achieved results, it seems reasonable to conduct activities encouraging the consumption of fermented milk products, especially kefir and buttermilk, which have many beneficial health properties and which are the least preferred by mothers and their children aged 1-3 years, and therefore the least consumed.