Conditioned to eat while watching television? Low-income caregivers’ perspectives on the role of snacking and television viewing among pre-schoolers

Abstract Objective Although television (TV) viewing is frequently paired with snacking among young children, little is known about the environment in which caregivers promote this behaviour. We describe low-income pre-schoolers’ snacking and TV viewing habits as reported by their primary caregivers, including social/physical snacking contexts, types of snacks and caregiver rationales for offering snacks. These findings may support the development of effective messages to promote healthy child snacking. Design Semi-structured interviews assessed caregiver conceptualizations of pre-schoolers’ snacks, purpose of snacks, snack context and snack frequency. Setting Interviews occurred in Boston, Massachusetts and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Subjects Forty-seven low-income multi-ethnic primary caregivers of children aged 3–5 years (92 % female, 32 % Hispanic/Latino, 34 % African American) described their child’s snacking in the context of TV viewing. Results TV viewing and child snacking themes were described consistently across racial/ethnic groups. Caregivers described snacks offered during TV viewing as largely unhealthy. Labels for TV snacks indicated non-nutritive purposes, such as ‘time out’, ‘enjoyment’ or ‘quiet.’ Caregivers’ primary reasons for providing snacks included child’s expectations, behaviour management (e.g. to occupy child) and social time (e.g. family bonding). Some caregivers used TV to distract picky children to eat more food. Child snacking and TV viewing were contextually paired by providing child-sized furniture (‘TV table’) specifically for snacking. Conclusions Low-income caregivers facilitate pre-schoolers’ snacking and TV viewing, which are described as routine, positive and useful for non-nutritive purposes. Messages to caregivers should encourage ‘snack-free’ TV viewing, healthy snack options and guidance for managing children’s behaviour without snacks or TV.

[1]  Ehsan Shahghasemi.  Cultural Schema Theory , 2017 .

[2]  K. Peterson,et al.  "It Hurts a Latina When They Tell Us Anything About Our Children": Implications of Mexican-Origin Mothers' Maternal Identities, Aspirations, and Attitudes About Cultural Transmission for Childhood Obesity Prevention. , 2015, Childhood obesity.

[3]  A. Vaughn,et al.  Parenting around child snacking: development of a theoretically-guided, empirically informed conceptual model , 2015, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

[4]  S. Bleich,et al.  U.S. adults and child snacking patterns among sugar-sweetened beverage drinkers and non-drinkers. , 2015, Preventive medicine.

[5]  G. Foster,et al.  “Snacks are not food”. Low-income, urban mothers' perceptions of feeding snacks to their preschool-aged children , 2015, Appetite.

[6]  Ralph Maddison,et al.  The non-advertising effects of screen-based sedentary activities on acute eating behaviours in children, adolescents, and young adults. A systematic review , 2013, Appetite.

[7]  G. Stratton,et al.  A place for play? The influence of the home physical environment on children’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour , 2013, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

[8]  Michelle M. Garrison,et al.  Parental cultural attitudes and beliefs regarding young children and television. , 2013, JAMA pediatrics.

[9]  J. Haines,et al.  Television Viewing and Televisions in Bedrooms: Perceptions of Racial/Ethnic Minority Parents of Young Children , 2013 .

[10]  M. Mora-Plazas,et al.  Adherence to a snacking dietary pattern and soda intake are related to the development of adiposity: a prospective study in school-age children , 2013, Public Health Nutrition.

[11]  M. Story,et al.  A review of snacking patterns among children and adolescents: what are the implications of snacking for weight status? , 2013, Childhood obesity.

[12]  R. Whitaker,et al.  Snacks are not food: low‐income mothers’ definitions and feeding practices around child snacking , 2013 .

[13]  D. Ward,et al.  Television viewing associated with adverse dietary outcomes in children ages 2–6 , 2012, Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

[14]  R. Kanarek,et al.  ObesiTV: How television is influencing the obesity epidemic , 2012, Physiology & Behavior.

[15]  L. Hayman,et al.  Caregiver food behaviours are associated with dietary intakes of children outside the child-care setting , 2012, Public Health Nutrition.

[16]  S. Suglia,et al.  Cumulative Social Risk and Obesity in Early Childhood , 2012, Pediatrics.

[17]  Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz,et al.  Television viewing, television content, food intake, physical activity and body mass index: a cross-sectional study of preschool children aged 2-6 years. , 2012, Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals.

[18]  Paula Lozano,et al.  Preschoolers' total daily screen time at home and by type of child care. , 2011, The Journal of pediatrics.

[19]  E. Loken,et al.  Stability and change in snack food likes and dislikes from 5 to 11 years , 2010, Appetite.

[20]  H. Szajewska,et al.  Meal patterns and childhood obesity , 2010, Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care.

[21]  K. Kleinman,et al.  Racial/Ethnic Differences in Early-Life Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity , 2010, Pediatrics.

[22]  B. Popkin,et al.  Trends in snacking among U.S. children. , 2010, Health affairs.

[23]  S. Gortmaker,et al.  Televisions in the Bedrooms of Racial/Ethnic Minority Children: How Did They Get There and How Do We Get Them Out? , 2009, Clinical pediatrics.

[24]  M. Greaney,et al.  Influence of Social Context on Eating, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behaviors of Latina Mothers and Their Preschool-Age Children , 2009, Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education.

[25]  T. Kral,et al.  Super-size me: Portion size effects on young children's eating , 2008, Physiology & Behavior.

[26]  C. Devine,et al.  Classifying foods in contexts: How adults categorize foods for different eating settings , 2007, Appetite.

[27]  A. Adachi-Mejia,et al.  Children with a TV in their bedroom at higher risk for being overweight , 2007, International Journal of Obesity.

[28]  Carrie D. Heitzler,et al.  Reducing Children's Television-Viewing Time: A Qualitative Study of Parents and Their Children , 2006, Pediatrics.

[29]  B. Zsembik,et al.  Ethnic variation in health and the determinants of health among Latinos. , 2005, Social science & medicine.

[30]  D. Levitsky,et al.  Children eat what they are served: the imprecise regulation of energy intake , 2005, Appetite.

[31]  Victor C Strasburger,et al.  Children, Adolescents, and the Media , 2002, Clinical pediatrics.

[32]  Robert B. Burns,et al.  Introduction to Research Methods , 2015, Research Methods for Political Science.

[33]  R. Briefel,et al.  The effectiveness of a short form of the Household Food Security Scale. , 1999, American journal of public health.

[34]  L. Birch,et al.  Conditioned meal initiation in young children , 1989, Appetite.

[35]  B. Popkin,et al.  Trends in dietary intake among US 2- to 6-year-old children, 1989-2008. , 2013, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

[36]  M W Heymans,et al.  Association between TV viewing, computer use and overweight, determinants and competing activities of screen time in 4- to 13-year-old children , 2013, International Journal of Obesity.

[37]  G. Flores,et al.  Factors predicting severe childhood obesity in kindergarteners , 2013, International Journal of Obesity.

[38]  Lynda M. Baker,et al.  Introduction: Research Methods , 2006, Libr. Trends.

[39]  William B. Gudykunst.  Theorizing about intercultural communication , 2005 .

[40]  R. W. Grove,et al.  An analysis of the constant comparative method , 1988 .