Lifestyle report: Children from obese or overweight families have a higher preference for fatty foods, a lower liking for vegetables and are more prone to an excessive eating style, according to a report to be published tomorrow.
The Diet and Lifestyle of Children in Ireland report highlights the importance of parental attitudes and behaviours in shaping children's eating and exercising lifestyles.
Written by nutritionists from Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork who carried out the National Children's Food survey last year, the report concludes that children mirror their parents' lifestyles, with the influence of the mother more significant than that of the father.
As children eat most of their meals and snacks at home, the home environment is found to have a critical influence on the dietary behaviour of young children, says the report, which was commissioned by Bird's Eye.
Although parents inevitably dictate which foods are available for children, how they are prepared and in what quantity, parents' own food-related behaviour may also affect the eating habits of their children, according to the report.
Targeting parental behaviours and guiding parents in the technique of regular and repeated taste exposure has the potential to improve the diets of young children, as opposed to employing interventions directed solely toward children.