Parental influences on children’s dairy products consumption: a narrative review
Ellen Greene, Celine Murrin
Abstract
Abstract Objective: To review research on the influence of parent-related factors on children’s dairy products consumption. Design: A search of electronic databases and a narrative synthesis of the literature were conducted. English-language articles were included if they reported data relating to parental influences on children’s consumption of dairy products and if statistical significance was reported. Setting: Studies were carried out in the USA ( n 8) and in a range of countries across Europe ( n 12) and Asia ( n 5). Participants: The subjects of this research were children aged between 2 and 12 years of age, from a range of geographical locations. Results: Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies examined children’s dairy products consumption in relation to parental socio-economic status (education level and income) ( n 12), home availability ( n 2), home food environment ( n 3), parental dairy products consumption ( n 4), parent feeding practices ( n 3), parents’ beliefs and attitudes ( n 3) and parental nutrition knowledge ( n 3). Results on the association between socio-economic status and children’s dairy products consumption varied; however, studies reporting a significant association generally observed a positive relationship. Fifteen studies reported children’s total dairy products intake as an outcome measure, with the remaining studies reporting intake of milk or other dairy products as individual foods. Conclusions: This review identified literature exploring a range of parental factors in relation to children’s dairy products intake. However, there were limited numbers of studies published within each category of modifiable factors. Further research on the parent-related determinants of dairy products consumption in children is required in order to identify potential intervention targets in this age group.