Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep 16;5(9):e007396.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007396.

Factors influencing obesogenic dietary intake in young children (0-6 years): systematic review of qualitative evidence

Veena Mazarello Paes  1 , Ken K Ong  2 , Rajalakshmi Lakshman  2
Affiliations

Factors influencing obesogenic dietary intake in young children (0-6 years): systematic review of qualitative evidence

Veena Mazarello Paes et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Background: Obesogenic dietary intake is prevalent in young children and is associated with obesity and other adverse health outcomes in childhood and later in life.

Objective: To describe the barriers to and facilitators of obesogenic dietary intake in early childhood, in order to inform interventions and public health policies to prevent obesity.

Design: Systematic review of qualitative literature on factors influencing obesogenic diets in children aged 0-6 years.

Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, British Nursing Index, ASSIA and Sociological Abstracts.

Review methods: Qualitative studies meeting the inclusion criteria were synthesised. Data were analysed by creating a thematic framework, underpinned by the socioecological model, which included familiarisation of data across the studies, indexing, charting, mapping and interpretation.

Results: 20 studies from the USA (10), Europe (6) and Australia (4) included the views of 1067 participants (901 parents/caregivers, 37 children, 87 teachers, 15 dieticians and 27 nursery staff). Study designs included focus groups (n=16), individual interviews (n=6) and ethnography (n=1) with some studies using more than one design. Despite wide differences in the study context and focus, several consistent themes emerged. Parental factors increasing young children's obesogenic diets were: negative parent/family/peer modelling, lack of knowledge, time constraints, using food as reward, affordability and concerns about child's health. Child preferences also increased intake. Environmental factors increasing intake include: availability, advertising, societal, cultural and preschool/childcare influences.

Conclusions: Future intervention strategies should aim to promote modelling of positive behaviours, create home and preschool environments that promote healthy diets, and simultaneously target factors at the family and preschool/childcare levels.

Trial registration number: This review is one of a series of systematic reviews on the determinants of obesogenic behaviours in young children, registered with the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), CRD42012002881.

Keywords: NUTRITION & DIETETICS; PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the systematic literature search for qualitative studies on obesogenic dietary intake in young children.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK et al. . Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999–2010. JAMA 2012;307:483–90. 10.1001/jama.2012.40 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Onis M, Blössner M, Borghi E. Global prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92:1257–64. 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29786 - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Health and Social Care Information Centre LS. National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2012/13 school year; December 2013. 2013. http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13115/nati-chil-meas-prog-eng-2012–...
    1. Cunningham SA, Kramer MR, Narayan KMV. Incidence of childhood obesity in the United States. N Engl J Med 2014;370:403–11. 10.1056/NEJMoa1309753 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases; Report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. Geneva; World Health Organization, 2003.

Publication types