Question 2
To the researchers’ knowledge, this was the first research study to provide data on sources of solid fats and added sugars as well as total energy examined by race/ethnicity, income, and age groups among diets of children and adolescents. What key factors do you think contribute to children and adolescent consumption of these “top” food/beverage sources?
posted by Amy M @ 4:58 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Some of the key factors that I believe may contribute to children and adolescent's consumption of pizza, soda, grain desserts, pastas, and yeast breads would be convenience, time constraints, price, and social/media factors. The top 5 food/beverage sources are all relatively easy to prepare and take very little time to make (e.g. bake the pizza, grab a can of soda, boil pasta, grab a slice of bread or piece of dessert). These items are typically low in cost and are readily available to people of all income brackets. I think many children/adolescents consume these foods on a regular basis because they are the social norm for that age and most of the food items are marketed in a way to engage children/adolescents so that they will ask their parents to buy them. However, I am sure there are many other factors involved in their choices/consumption that I am not aware of.
I think that taste preference influences child and adolescent consumption of these foods. Children and adolescents do not consider the nutritional value or positive nutrition qualities of foods when making selections. They want to eat what tastes good! These types of foods are everywhere. Kids are bombarded with commercials for fast food chains, pizza and pretzels are served at ballparks, sporting events, and schools! If a child wants a dessert-type treat they can purchase them for %0.50 in vending machines, concessions stands and convenience stores. Although parents have control of what their child is eating in the home, they do not have total control over what their kids are eating outside of the home.
Sarah, you make such a good point about how children have easy access to cheap vending machine items/concession stand options at school that provide pizza and other convenience foods that their parents have little to no control over what they eat at school. Hopefully in the near future these vending machine items will be switched out with healthier options and school menus will be completely revamped by new standards.
I believe children and adolescents consume these top food sources because they are convenient and appeal to picky eaters. The parents of this population may be busy or on-the-go most of them time. These food items tend to be quick, easy, and cheap. Often, children and adolescents are picky eaters, as well. The food items mentioned in this study usually appeal to most for their taste.
Taste, parental influence, convenience, and media influence are a few of the "key" factors I think that contribute to consumption of these top food/beverage sources. As humans, we have an innate taste for fatty, sugary and salty foods. it takes exposure to foods not as high in those components to establish acceptance. If kids are never exposed to foods other than those of convenience, they will continuously go for what they know they like, and tastes good. Children and adolescents are also continuously bombarded with images of these types of food in the media. If they are influenced by an advertisement or commercial, that can in turn influence the purchases of their parents.
I think perhaps the biggest factors that contribute to consumption of these foods are that they are generally cheap, easy to access, and quick to prepare (since most are probably pre-prepared). Also, when not exposed to more types of foods and healthier fare, the palates of these children are going to change so that they prefer the salt, sugar, and fat that are found in these items. In many schools and hospitals, they may serve healthier dishes or entrees, but if they also have an a la carte section then the children may choose to buy soda and cookies for lunch. For parents that don’t have a lot of time or energy when they get home from work, they might prefer to order pizza for dinner or they might not want to try fighting their children about eating healthier foods.
Meredith, I think you bring up a good point about these products being prevalent in the media. Children watch more television and movies than ever before, so when they see Justin Bieber drinking pop or see advertisements for new snack foods, those are things that they are going to want to eat.
I think convenience and price are the main factors that contributed to participants choosing these food options. These foods are typically very available and are low in cost, which makes them ideal for children and adolescents. These foods are also quick and easy for parents to prepare or purchase. Since most families are short on time, these options are easy alternatives to preparing a meal at home.
I agree with Sarah; children and adolescents will choose what foods taste good to them regardless of their nutritional value. This is why it is important to provide adequate nutrition education, to ensure these children know what a healthy diet includes and how to incorporate those popular choices in moderation.
Taste and convenience are definitely the two key factors here that influence the consumption of these solid fat and added sugar food substances. Let's be honest, sugar and fat are what make food delicious to many people, especially children so it's no surprise that this is what they are consuming the most of. Plus, children tend to eat what their parents eat and fat and added sugar are two main ingredients that the American adult population consume as well. As for convenience, these foods such as pastas, pizzas, desserts, ect can often be cheap, require minimal preparation and are constantly being advertised in the media. So again, it's no wonder that these are the foods that 2 to 18 year olds are consuming the highest amount of. I'm definitely curious to see what will happen when items like soda are made less convenient when an added tax is placed on them.
Liz,
I think it's very interesting that you mentioned appealing to picky eaters. I never thought of it that way before but it definitely makes sense that these are foods that most people tend to enjoy, even the picky ones. Like with pasta and pizza, you can dress both up or down depending on who is going to be eating it. Also, when you think about picky eaters, that don't typical lean towards the heathier foods such as fruits and vegetables but more towards the higher fat and added sugar foods so I think it's great that you mentioned this.
Meredith,
I agree, parental preferences in these foods are equally as influential as the media. The taste preferences of parents perpetuate poor eating habits in their children.
There are several obvious reasons why high fat foods and foods with added sugar are consumed the most; they taste good, they are convenient, and they are heavily advertised through television, the internet, radio, etc. I think the advertising should really be addressed. It is similar to cigarette ads. They portray an ideal that just isn't true. I'm looking forward to some policy changes in that area in the future.
Sarah G:
I thought it was interesting when you said that parents do not have control over what their children are eating outside the home. While that is definitely true, they do have control over their children's knowledge of healthy foods and their ability to make healthy choices when they are outside the home. It seems like things always point back to what the children are learning at home about healthy foods and what types of eating habits the parents are modeling.
Convenient foods are, well, convenient, especially in the fast-paced lifestyle of the U.S. In this country, going hungry is the exception, not the rule, while being malnourished is quite the opposite. We don't think of food as fuel, but as pleasure, and the more pleasurable the taste, the more popular the food, especially among picky eater populations (ie KIDS). If I had little nutrition knowledge and was given the choice of what foods I would eat, I would probably pick ice cream, fried chicken, and cheese tortellini most nights of the week - and probably in that order. Americans often have the choice to eat what they want without having the knowledge to make the right choice. Of course kids will turn to what is tasty and easy; so will their parents most of the time. I'd be interested to see what adults' "top" food/beverage sources are.
I agree with most everyone that convenience and taste are key players in children and adolescents' food choices. Since these foods are almost always high in fat, sugar and salt, healthy options need to continue to become available in just as convenient forms. The healthy choice needs to be the easy choice.
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