Predictors of outcomes following a brief Portuguese parental nutrition intervention

Abstract

Early childhood is largely recognized as a critical period for shaping the child’s eating patterns.Although interventions studies that focus on first years of life are increasing, with positive impact,the moderators of treatment gains and the relative importance of each determinant of the changeprocess have been rarely explored. This study aimed to identify potential predictors of outcomesconcerning children’s healthy and unhealthy eating behaviors after a parental school-basedintervention. An intervention longitudinal study with repeated measures at baseline and afterparticipation in the Red Apple program was performed. Parents and children were recruited in publicand state-funded kindergartens near Lisbon, Portugal. A total of 44 parents of 3- to 6-year-old childrenagreed to participate in the study and 39 met the inclusion criteria. The Red Apple program includedfour parental group sessions about young children’s growth, nutritional guidelines, and positiveparental feeding strategies, and adult-child activities and newsletters delivered to caregivers. Dataregarding children’s dietary intake, food preferences, neophobia/neophilia, parental concerns aboutthe child’s weight, and self-efficacy in promoting healthy dietary patterns in children were collectedbefore (T1) and after (T2) the intervention. Higher parental concerns about weight and self-efficacyat T1 significantly predicted children’s healthy dietary intake at T2. The only significant contributionfor children’s unhealthy dietary intake at T2 was the previous consumption of those foods at T1.Interventions that focus on parental cognitive variables might effectively contribute to positive changes in children’s dietary intake. Findings also suggest that specific targets of children’s diet may pose unlike challenges that respond differently to the mechanisms of influence of the intervention.