Abstract

Eating preferences and practices are established early in life, yet we have little knowledge about how mothers make food decisions on behalf of their children. These decisions, however, lay the foundation for their child's lifelong food preferences and eating behaviors. Almost one-third of all children in the U.S. are overweight or obese putting them at high risk for becoming an overweight or obese adult. To make a difference in the ongoing obesity epidemic, we must better understand the relationship among characteristics of the mother who controls the young child's access to food, food choices, and feeding practices. This knowledge will undergird future interventions.

This study explored associations among mothers' dietary self-regulation, stress, feeding practices and body mass index (BMI) and her child's BMI and dietary intake, and, identified influential contextual factors in a sample of mothers of preschool children ages 2-5 years. Inclusion criteria: mothers > 18 years of age with a child 2-5 years of age, able to read English, and self-identify as the primary parent caregiver. Exclusion criteria: child with a previously diagnosed medical condition affecting their ability to eat, and mothers who did not have access to a device to complete the electronic survey.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 28163810; ProQuest document ID: 2440676246. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Andrea Bushaw, PhD, CPNP, Director of Clinical Transformation, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor - University of Minnesota

Sigma Membership

Alpha Beta

Lead Author Affiliation

Gillette Children's Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Cross-Sectional

Research Approach

Mixed/Multi Method Research

Keywords:

Children, Eating Practices, Mothers, Body Mass Index

Advisor

Melanie Lutenbacher

Second Advisor

Sharon Karp

Third Advisor

Mary Dietrich

Fourth Advisor

Kelly Haws

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

Vanderbilt University

Degree Year

2020

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2022-11-07

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