Abstract

MONTEBAN, Madalena; VILLAGRA, Gabriela  and  ALDERETE, Ethel. Vegetables and fruits in early childhood: maternal nutritional practices. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2022, vol.82, n.5, pp.732-739. ISSN 0025-7680.

Introduction: Global consumption of vegetables and fruits is currently below recommendations, im pacting the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases. In addition to environmental factors, mothers’ feeding practices influence children’s eating patterns. Methods: Questionnaires were conducted with mothers of children 7 months to 7 years of age (n = 727), in 12 Primary Health Care Centers in the capital cities of three Argentine provinces. Fruit and vegetable consumption was evaluated with the Children’s Dietary Questionnaire (CDQ). We tested the association with maternal feeding practices distributed across three domains: role model ing, accessibility, and socialization of the products in the home. We tested 11 practices separately and a vari able summing the 11 practices. Results: The majority of children (86%) had low fruit and vegetable intake. In regression models, each of the 11 practices showed a significant association with children’s fruit and vegetable intake (beta 0,6-1,8). However, the variable testing the sum of the 11 practices showed a larger association parameter with intake, even in multiple regression (beta 3,9). Proximity of sale points and cost of products also showed a significant association with intake. Conclusion: Results provide information on home based strategies to promote children’s fruit and vegetable intake that do not require complex resources and can be incorporated into community health education programs.

Keywords : Pediatric obesity; Dietary intake; Role modeling; Accessibility; Socialization; Latin America.

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