Parental actions that correlate with preschoolers requesting larger portions of food when away from home

Authors

  • Brian Wansink Cornell University (RApplied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USAetired)
  • Audrey Wansink Lansing High School, LansingLansing High School, Lansing, New York, USA, New York

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20221207

Keywords:

Physical food environment, Home food environment, Away-from-home food, Childhood obesity, Preschool children, Clean plate club

Abstract

Background: How does a parent’s action at home sabotage the way their child eats when they are not at home? This two-part study explored which parental behaviors at home were most correlated with 75 preschooler’s requests for larger servings of snacks when away from home and away from parental scrutiny.

Methods: Primary meal providers of three- to five-year old children completed surveys describing how they served food and snacks at home (such as whether they were always available in any amount a child wanted) and a wide range of questions about snacking habits of their children. Two weeks later, their children were met (without their parents present) and asked to indicate how much Froot Loops (a popular pre-sweetened cereal) they wanted for their morning snack. Correlations between how much they served and household snacking behaviors were then explored.

Results: Boys who were often required to clean their plates at home requested more cereal during snack time when away from home (p<0.05), and daughters who were able to snack at home whenever at home whether they wanted also requested more (p<0.05). Girls who were frequently given fruit as a snack at home requested less presweetened cereal when away from home (p<0.01).

Conclusions: Parent actions in the home might have an unexpected impact on how much of less healthy foods children request when they away from such parental oversight. Care must be taken so a parent does not win a food battle at home just to lose any away-from-home food war.

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Author Biographies

Brian Wansink, Cornell University (RApplied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USAetired)

Brian Wansink is retired from being the first John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing at Cornell University.  He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1990, and he has been a professor at Dartmouth College, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Cornell University.  His behavioral science research focuses on discovering useful everyday health-related solutions that can help people eat better and be more connected to others. He is also a former Executive Director at the United States Department of Agriculture and the former Executive Director of Research at VitalSmarts.  

Audrey Wansink, Lansing High School, LansingLansing High School, Lansing, New York, USA, New York

Audrey Wansink is a Borloug Scholar for the World Food Prize and is a summer researcher with the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University.

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Fisher JO, Mitchell DC, Smiciklas-Wright H, Birch LL. Parental influences on young girls’ fruit and vegetables, micronutrient and fat intake. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102(1):58-64.

Wansink B. Mindless eating: why we eat more than we think. New York: Bantam Dell; 2006.

Sullivan SA, Birch LL. Infant dietary experience and acceptance of solid foods. Pediatrics. 1994;93(2):271-7.

Eertmans A, Baeyens F, Bergh O. Food likes and their relative importance in human eating behavior: review and preliminary suggestions for health promotion. Health Educ Res. 2001;16(4):443-56.

Birch LL. Development of food preferences. Annu Rev Nutr. 1999;19:41-62.

Gibson EL, Wardle J, Watts CJ. Fruit and vegetable consumption, nutritional knowledge and beliefs in mothers and children. Appetite. 1998;31(2):205-28.

Rolls BJ, Engell D, Birch LL. Serving portion size influences 5-year-old but not 3-year-old children's food intakes. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100(2):232-4.

Wansink B. Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions to Everyday Life. New York: William Morrow;2014.

Lin B-H, Guthrie J, Frazao E. Quality of Children’s Diets at and away from Home: 1994-1996. Food Review; 22: 2-10.

Cawley J. Markets and childhood obesity policy. Childhood Obesity. 2006;16: 69-88.

Tillotson JE. America’s obesity: conflicting public policies, industrial economic development, and unintended human consequences. Annual Review of Nutrition. 2004;24617-643.

Wansink B. Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing consumers. Annu Rev Nutr 2004;24:455-479.

Perdew, M., Liu, S., & Naylor, P. J. (2021). Family-based nutrition interventions for obesity prevention among school-aged children: a systematic review. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 11(3), 709-723.

Machado-Rodrigues AM, Gama A, Mourão I, Nogueira H, Rosado-Marques V, Padez C. Eating away from home: a risk factor for overweight in children. European journal of clinical nutrition. 2018 Dec;72(12):1724-7.

Faith MS, Berkowitz RI, Stallings VA, Kerns J, Storey M, Stunkard AJ. Parental feeding attitudes and styles and child body mass index: Prospective analysis of a gene-environment interaction. Pediatrics. 2004; 114: e429-e436.

Fisher JO, Birch LL. Fat preferences and fat consumption of 3-5-year-old children are related to parental adiposity. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995;95:759-764.

Francis LA, Lee Y, Birch LL. Parental weight status and girls’ television viewing, snacking, and body mass indexes. Obes Res. 2003;11:143-151.

Johnson SL, Birch LL. Parents’ and children’s adiposity and eating style. Pediatrics. 1994;94:653-661.

Braet C, Van Strien T. The DEBQ parent version. Assesment of emotional, external, and restrained eating behavior in nine to 12-year-old children. Behav Res Ther. 1997;35: 863-873.

Wilson GT. Behavioral treatment of obesity: thirty years and counting. Adv Behav Res Ther. 1994; 16:31-75.

Braet C. Psychological profile to become and to stay obese. International Journal of Obesity. 2005;29, S19-S23.

Wansink B, Payne CR, Chandon P. Internal and external cues of meal cessation: the French paradox redux? Obesity. 2006; 12: 2920-2924.

van Ittersum K, Wansink B. Do children really prefer large portions? Visual illusions bias their estimates and intake. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007; 107:1107-1110.

Wansink B, van Ittersum K, Painter JE. Ice cream illusions: bowls, spoons, and self-served portion sizes. Am J Prev Med. 2006; 31: 240-243.

Wansink B. Slim by design: Mindless eating solutions for everyday life. London: Hay House, Inc, UK; 2016 Apr 26.

Wansink B. Can package size accelerate usage volume? Journal of Marketing. 1996; 60: 1-14.

Wansink B, Kim J. Bad popcorn in big buckets: portion size can influence intake as much as taste. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2005; 37: 242-245.

Wansink B, Painter JE, North J. Bottomless bowls: why visual cues of portion size may influence intake. Obesity Research. 2005; 13:93-100.

Wansink B, van Ittersum K. Bottoms up! The influence of elongation on pouring and consumption volume. Journal of Consumer Research. 2003;30:455-463.

Raghubir P, Krishna A. Vital dimensions in volume perception: can the eye fool the stomach? Journal of Marketing Research. 1999; 36: 313-326.

Piaget J. The mechanisms of perception. Rutlege & Kegan Paul: London.

Baumrind D. Current patterns of parental authority. Devel Psychol Mono. 1971;4:101-103.

Baumrind D. The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. J Early Adolesc. 1991;11:56-95.

Branen L, Fletcher J. Comparison of college student’s current eating habits and recollections of their childhood food practices. J Nutr Educ. 1999;31:304-310.

Penney TL, Jones NR, Adams J, Maguire ER, Burgoine T, Monsivais P. Utilization of away-from-home food establishments, dietary approaches to stop hypertension dietary pattern, and obesity. American journal of preventive medicine. 2017 Nov 1;53(5):e155-63.

McMaster LE, Wintre MG. The relations between perceived parental reciprocity, perceived parental approval, and adolescent substance use. J Adolesc Res. 1996;11:440-460.

Wansink B, Johnson KA. The clean plate club: About 92% of self-served food is eaten. International Journal of Obesity. 2015 Feb;39(2):371-4.

Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 1998; 101:539-549.

Wansink B, Johnson KA. Adults only: why don’t children belong to the clean-plate club?. International Journal of Obesity. 2015 Feb;39(2):375-.

Birch LL, Davison KK. Family environmental factors influencing the developing behavioral controls of food intake and childhood overweight. 2005; 48: 893-907.

Spruijt-Metz D, Lindquist CH, Birch LL, Fisher JO, Goran MI. Relation between mothers’ child-feeding practices and children’s adiposity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;75:581-586.

Fisher JO, Birch LL. Restricting access to palatable foods affects children’s behavioral response, food selection, and intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69:1264-1272.

Fisher JO, Mitchell DC, Smiciklas-Wright H, Birch LL. Parental influences on young girls’ fruit and vegetables, micronutrient and fat intake. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102:58-64.

Wansink B. Mindless eating: why we eat more than we think, New York: Bantam-Dell;2006.

Sullivan SA, Birch LL. Infant dietary experience and acceptance of solid foods. Am Acad Pediatrics. 1994;93:271-277.

Eertmans A, Baeyens F, Van den Bergh O. Food likes and their relative importance in human eating behavior: review and preliminary suggestions for health promotion. Health Educ Res. 2001;16:443-456.

Birch LL. Development of food preferences. Ann Rev Nutr. 1999;19:4162.

Gibson EL, Wardle J, Watts CJ. Fruit and vegetable consumption, nutritional knowledge and beliefs in mothers and children. Appetite. 1998;31:205-228.

year-old children’s food intakes. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100:232-34

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Published

2022-04-27

How to Cite

Wansink, B., & Wansink, A. (2022). Parental actions that correlate with preschoolers requesting larger portions of food when away from home. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 9(5), 1961–1967. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20221207

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Original Research Articles