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Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors

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A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Pediatric Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2023) | Viewed by 28351

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Prof. Dr. Tzuan A. Chen

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Guest Editor

1. HEALTH Research Institute, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
2. Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
Interests: applying statistics; psychometrics in social-behavioral science; children/adult nutrition; health disparities; health behaviors; substance use; obesity; cancer prevention

Dr. Jayna Markand Dave

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Guest Editor

USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: health disparities; obesity; chronic disease; children and families; low-income underserved communities; food access; food choice; food insecurity; nutrition security; nutrition and health outcomes; community-engaged approaches to population health; design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions in preschool, schools, and family- and community-based settings
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nutrition plays a vital role in children’s health. Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development with biologic, psychosocial, and emotional changes. These changes place elevated nutritional demands on children. The types of health behaviors; the influences of family and the environment; and cultural, socioeconomic, and psychological factors, can present barriers to healthy eating for children. Nutrition deficits and poor eating habits established in childhood have immediate and long-term adverse health, growth, and developmental consequences that might also be carried into adulthood.

This Special Issue of Children is focused on children’s nutrition, feeding, and eating behaviors, and their relationship to child health outcomes. This Special Issue is designed to document and disseminate original qualitative and/or quantitative research and emerging issues and practices relevant to these issues globally. For this Special Issue, we invite papers reporting:

Original research studies focused on innovative interventions for improving children’s nutrition, feeding, or eating behaviors;
Studies on conceptual models demonstrating the effect of children’s nutrition and eating behaviors on health and growth;
Review articles that highlight the significance of recent research in child nutrition, feeding and eating behaviors and illustrate the central role of nutrition in the promotion of children’s health.

Prof. Dr. Tzuan A. Chen
Dr. Jayna Markand Dave
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

children
nutrition
feeding
eating behaviors
health outcomes

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association between the Carbohydrate Quality Index (CQI) and Nutritional Adequacy in a Pediatric Cohort: The SENDO Project

by Elise Fabios, Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Lorena García-Blanco, Víctor de la O, Susana Santiago, Itziar Zazpe and Nerea Martín-Calvo

Children 2023, 10(10), 1711; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10101711 - 20 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1518

Abstract

Suboptimal micronutrient intake in children remains a public health concern around the world. This study examined the relationship between a previously defined dietary carbohydrate quality index (CQI) and the risk of micronutrient intake inadequacy in a pediatric cohort of Spanish preschoolers. Children aged 4–5 years old were recruited at their medical center or at school, and information on sociodemographic, dietary, and lifestyle variables were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire. Dietary information was obtained from a validated 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. We calculated the CQI and categorized participants into quartiles according to their scores. We assessed the intakes of 20 micronutrients and evaluated the probability of intake inadequacy by using the estimated average requirement cut-off point. Generalized estimating equations were used to adjust for potential confounders and account for the intra-cluster correlations between siblings. The adjusted proportions of children with an inadequate intake of ≥three micronutrients were 23%, 12%, 11%, and 9% in the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles of the CQI, respectively. Children in the highest quartile of the CQI had 0.22-fold lower odds (95% CI 0.10–0.48) of having ≥three inadequate micronutrient intakes than their peers in the lowest quartile. These findings reinforce the relevance of carbohydrate quality in children’s diets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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9 pages, 226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Affecting the Developmental Status of Children Aged 6 Months to 2 Years in Urban and Rural Areas

by Rita Andriyani, Eddy Fadlyana and Rodman Tarigan

Children 2023, 10(7), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071214 - 13 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3689

Abstract

The first two years of life, including the period from conception to 2 years of age, are very important for a child’s growth and development. This study sought to describe the developmental status and the environmental factors that influence it in children aged 6 months to 2 years in urban and rural areas. The research sites were purposively selected: specific health centres in the city of Bandung and West Bandung district were chosen and the study was conducted from November to December 2022. A cross-sectional study was conducted with healthy children aged 6 months to 2 years and their parents, who agreed to participate in the study. Researchers performed developmental tests using the Developmental Pre-screening Questionnaire with classifications for normal developmental test results and developmental delays. During the study, 346 children met the inclusion criteria, resulting in a sample of 164 (47.4%) boys and 182 (52.6%) girls. There were no significant differences among children with developmental delays in urban and rural areas. The factors that influence the possibility of developmental delays in the two research areas were the child’s age, exposure to screen time, stimulation, nutritional status, and the use of the mother–child handbook. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

17 pages, 528 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lace Up and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial Intervention to Reduce Emotional Eating, Anxiety, and Sleep Disturbances in Latinx and Black Youth

by Norma Olvera, Sascha Hein, Molly Matthews-Ewald, Rongfang Zhang and Rhonda Scherer

Children 2023, 10(3), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030538 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2039

Abstract

This study assessed the effects of a 12-week afterschool mindfulness-based diet and exercise intervention on mental and physical health in Latinx and Black youth. One hundred forty-eight boys and girls (average age = 10.1 years, SD = 1.3 years; 52% girls; 72.3% Latinx) were randomized to either the experimental group (n = 80) or the control group (n = 68). The experimental group participants engaged in fitness yoga, kickboxing, and/or spinning sessions, and mindfulness practices (e.g., breathing, meditation, and mindful eating) twice per week for 12 weeks. The control group participants engaged in a recreational play session once per week for 12 weeks. All participants completed surveys (demographics, acculturation, anxiety, emotional eating, sleep, and food intake) and had their height, weight, and percent body fat measured pre- and post-intervention. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days pre- and post-intervention. Repeated measures analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental group participants reported lower scores in emotional eating, anxiety, and sleep latency post-intervention compared to the control group participants. Conversely, no significant differences were observed in physical activity between the experimental and control group participants post-intervention. These findings indicate that a mindfulness-based intervention has a positive effect on emotional eating, anxiety, and sleep latency among youth of color. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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14 pages, 318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Child Weight Status: The Role of Feeding Styles and Highly Motivated Eating in Children

by Maria A. Papaioannou, Thomas G. Power, Teresia M. O’Connor, Jennifer O. Fisher, Nilda E. Micheli and Sheryl O. Hughes

Children 2023, 10(3), 507; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030507 - 4 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1761

Abstract

Although parental feeding plays an important role in child eating and weight status, high food motivation among children may also be a factor shaping how feeding impacts child weight. This study explored whether individual differences in preschool children’s food motivation interacted with mothers’ feeding styles in predicting subsequent child weight status. Participants included 129 Hispanic Head Start mother/child dyads. Data were collected at ages 4–5 years (Time 1) and 7–9 (Time 3). Staff measured heights/weights and observed children in an eating in the absence of hunger task. Mothers reported on feeding styles/practices and children’s eating behaviors. A principal components analysis derived a measure of highly motivated eating in children. Multiple regressions predicted Time 3 child BMI z-scores. Time 3 BMI z-scores were positively predicted by authoritative and indulgent feeding styles and negatively predicted by monitoring. Since feeding style interacted with highly motivated eating, separate regressions were run for high and low food motivation in children. Unexpectedly, results showed that authoritative feeding positively predicted Time 3 child BMI z-scores only for children showing low levels of food motivation. Characterizing differential parental feeding and child eating phenotypes may assist in tailoring childhood obesity prevention programs for the target populations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

18 pages, 1416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinical Evolution of Preschool Picky Eater Children Receiving Oral Nutritional Supplementation during Six Months: A Prospective Controlled Clinical Trial

by Carlos Alberto Nogueira-de-Almeida, Luiz Antonio Del Ciampo, Edson Zangiacomi Martinez, Andrea Aparecida Contini, Maria Eduarda Nogueira-de-Almeida, Ivan Savioli Ferraz, Matias Epifanio and Fabio da Veiga Ued

Children 2023, 10(3), 495; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030495 - 2 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4428

Abstract

Objective: To determine if oral nutritional supplementation of picky eater children has a beneficial effect in addition to nutritional guidance on anthropometric parameters, nutrient intake, appetite, physical activity, and health complications. Methods: This is a randomized, single-blind, controlled clinical trial that included Brazilian picky eater children aged 24 to 60 months. The individuals were randomized into a control group (CG) (n = 17) and an intervention group (IG) (n = 18), and were followed up in seven meetings for 180 days (baseline plus one meeting every 30 days). The CG received nutritional guidance for food selectivity, while the IG received the same guidance plus oral nutritional supplementation. Anthropometric and nutrient intake assessments were carried out, and appetite, physical activity and health complications were investigated. Results: In the IG, the z-score of weight and height increased significantly over time (p < 0.05), while the body fat percentage (BFP) and BMI z-score remained unchanged. The percentage of inadequate intake of vitamins D, C and folate reduced in the IG over time compared to the CG (p < 0.05). In the IG, the score assigned by parents to the appetite scale increased over time (p < 0.05). There was no difference between the groups in the scores on the physical activity and global health scales, and in the number of health complications. Conclusions: Picky eater children that were supplemented increased their weight not by gaining fat, but due to an increase in stature, as shown by BMI z-score and BFP, that remained unchanged. Furthermore, they showed a decrease in inadequate micronutrient intake during the intervention. An improvement in appetite was also observed over time, attesting to the benefit of supplementation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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13 pages, 933 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Promoting Health Equity: Identifying Parent and Child Reactions to a Culturally-Grounded Obesity Prevention Program Specifically Designed for Black Girls Using Community-Engaged Research

by Haley Allen, Chishinga Callender and Debbe Thompson

Children 2023, 10(3), 417; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030417 - 21 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1884

Abstract

The Butterfly Girls (BFG) Study is a culturally and developmentally appropriate online obesity prevention program for 8–10-year-old Black girls designed with key stakeholders in the Black community. This multi-methods investigation, conducted with parent–child dyads who participated in an outcome evaluation of the intervention, aimed to understand parent and child reactions to the program. We were particularly interested in understanding perceptions regarding its cultural and developmental appropriateness, relevance and acceptability. Program participation and survey data (demographics, parent and child write-in comments on process evaluation surveys) were analyzed. Participation data demonstrated high adherence in treatment and comparison groups. Descriptive statistics were calculated for survey data and highlighted the socioeconomic diversity of the sample. Post intervention surveys included two fill-in-the-blank questions for parents (n = 184 for question 1, n = 65 for question 2) and one for children (n = 32). Comments were analyzed using structured thematic analysis. The majority of the feedback from child participants was complimentary and many found the program relatable. Among the parent responses, the majority found the program to be beneficial in its educational nature and in promoting behavior change. This multi-methods analysis suggests that the BFG program was perceived as beneficial by parents while being culturally and developmentally appropriate and engaging for young Black girls, highlighting the importance of co-collaboration in program development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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14 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fruit and Vegetable Shopping Behavior and Intake among Low-Income Minority Households with Elementary-Aged Children

by Brittni N. Metoyer, Ru-Jye Chuang, MinJae Lee, Christine Markham, Eric Brown, Maha Almohamad, Jayna M. Dave and Shreela V. Sharma

Children 2023, 10(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10010082 - 30 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3107

Abstract

Low-income children and families do not meet the recommendations for fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. This study aimed to assess the association between FV shopping behavior and child FV intake through a cross-sectional study design analyzing self-reported surveys (n = 6074) from adult-child dyads of Hispanic/Latino and African American participants enrolled in the Brighter Bites co-op program. Through quantitative mixed effects linear regression models, accounting for school-level clustering and adjusting for covariates, child FV intake was positively associated with shopping for FV at large chain grocery stores (p < 0.001), natural/organic supermarkets (p < 0.001), warehouse club stores (p = 0.002), discount superstores (p < 0.001), small local stores/corner stores (p = 0.038), convenience stores (p = 0.022), ethnic markets (p = 0.002), farmers’ markets/co-op/school farm stands (p < 0.001), and gardens (p = 0.009) among Hispanic/Latinos participants. Among African American participants, there was significant positive association between child FV intake and shopping for FV at natural/organic supermarkets (p < 0.001), discount superstores (p = 0.005), and convenience stores (p = 0.031). The relationship between location and frequency of shopping for FV and child FV intake varied between races. Further research is needed to better understand the influence of cultural and physical environmental factors. Nutrition education programs are vital to encouraging families to make healthier food choices and purchases to improve child FV consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

8 pages, 516 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quality of Diet of Patients with Coeliac Disease in Comparison to Healthy Children

by Sara Sila, Mario Mašić, Draženka Kranjčec, Tena Niseteo, Lucija Marić, Ana Radunić, Iva Hojsak, Oleg Jadrešin and Zrinjka Mišak

Children 2022, 9(10), 1595; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9101595 - 21 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1960

Abstract

A lifelong strict gluten-free diet is the only available treatment for patients with coeliac disease (CD). As with any restrictive diet, it may potentially lead to nutritional deficits. Seventy-six patients with CD (mean age 9.0 ± 4.3 years, 57% female) and 590 healthy controls (HC) (mean age 9.9 ± 0.1 years, 54% female) were recruited and requested to keep a 3-day food record (3DFR). In HC patients, anthropometric data were determined at the time when 3DFRs were collected. In CD patients, anthropometric data were determined at two time points: at diagnosis and at the time of 3DFRs collection. Intake of energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients was determined using PRODI expert 6.9 software and expressed as a percentage of recommended daily intake. In CD patients, all measured anthropometric measures (body weight (BW), body height (BH), and body mass index (BMI) z-scores) increased significantly after the mean duration of 34.1 months of a GFD. Overall, CD patients had significantly lower BW and BH z-scores compared to healthy controls. Patients with CD were generally more compliant with the recommended dietary intakes of macronutrients and some micronutrients, as compared to HC. Three participants were not compliant with the GFD; 42.1% of participants took oral nutritional supplements at the start of their GFD. Our study showed that patients with CD have better compliance with dietary recommendations compared to healthy controls, showing that a well-balanced GFD diet can provide necessary macro- and micronutrients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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11 pages, 585 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Food Insecurity among Low-Income Households with Children Participating in a School-Based Fruit and Vegetable Co-Op

by Allison N. Marshall, Ru-Jye Chuang, Joanne Chow, Nalini Ranjit, Jayna M. Dave, Mallika Mathur, Christine Markham and Shreela V. Sharma

Children 2022, 9(8), 1250; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081250 - 19 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3358

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a nutrition intervention on food insecurity among low-income households with children. Data were collected from 371 parent–child dyads in a quasi-experimental evaluation study of a 1-year intervention (n = 6 intervention schools receiving Brighter Bites, n = 6 wait-list control schools), and longitudinal follow-up of the intervention group 2 years post-intervention in Houston, Texas. Data were collected at three timepoints: at baseline and 1 year for all participants, and at 2 year follow-up for the intervention group (the wait-list control group received the intervention during that time). At baseline, most parents reported food insecurity (60.6%; 70% intervention group, 53.6% control). Food insecurity decreased significantly from 81.3% to 61.7% [(−0.32, −0.07) p = 0.002] among intervention participants immediately post-intervention. After adjusting for ethnicity, 2 years post-intervention the predicted percentage of participants reporting food insecurity decreased significantly by roughly 35.4% from 76.4% at baseline to 41.0% [(−0.49, −0.22), p < 0.001]. Between-group changes were not significant. The re-sults of this study demonstrated a significant positive impact of Brighter Bites on food security in the short and long-term among low-income households with children, albeit results should be in-terpreted with caution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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16 pages, 697 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Development and Validation of a New Screening Tool with Non-Invasive Indicators for Assessment of Malnutrition Risk in Hospitalised Children

by Petra Klanjšek, Majda Pajnkihar, Nataša Marčun Varda, Mirjam Močnik, Sonja Golob Jančič and Petra Povalej Bržan

Children 2022, 9(5), 731; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9050731 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3303

Abstract

There is no evidence of the most effective nutritional screening tool for hospitalized children. The present study aimed to develop a quick, simple, and valid screening tool for identifying malnutrition risk of hospital admission with non-invasive indicators. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Children`s nutritional baseline using a questionnaire, subjective malnutritional risk, and Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment were assessed on admission. Concurrent validity was assessed using American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN)and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics assessment and Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment tool. A new screening tool Simple Pediatric Nutritional risk Screening tool (SPENS) was developed, and sensitivity, specificity and reliability were evaluated. A total of 180 children aged from 1 month to 18 years were included (142 in the development phase and 38 in the validation phase). SPENS consist of four variables and shows almost perfect agreement with subjective malnutritional risk assessment (κ = 0.837) with high sensitivity and specificity (93.3% and 91.3% respectively). Compared with Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment and ASPEN and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics assessment, SPENS had sensitivity 92.9% and 86.7%, a specificity of 87.5% and 87.0%, and an overall agreement of 0.78 and 0.728, respectively. Due to the fast, simple, easy, and practical to use, screening the SPENS can be performed by nurses, physicians, and dieticians. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Children’s Healthy Growth: Improving Children’s Nutrition and Eating Behaviors)

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