SNEB Journal Club 5: Mealtime Structure and Responsive Feeding Practices are Associated with Less Fussiness and More Enjoyment

Speaker: Elena Jansen, PhD, Queensland University of Technology

http://www.jneb.org/article/S1499-4046(16)30721-7/fulltext

This webinar was pre-recorded.

The findings suggested that mealtime structure and responsive feeding are associated with more desirable eating behaviors. Contrary to predictions, there was no evidence to indicate that these practices are associated with better self-regulation of energy intake. Longitudinal research and intervention studies are needed to confirm the importance of these feeding practices for children's eating behaviors and weight outcomes.

Learning objectives:
1. Attendees will be introduced to a community-based randomized controlled trial conducted in Australia which aimed to promote positive maternal feeding practices and foster healthy child eating and weight development.
2. After this symposium, attendees will be familiar with the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire and have a better understanding of the relationship between aspects of the mealtime environment and children’s eating behavior.
3. Attendees will be encouraged to explore the generalizability of findings and application of measurement tools to their home countries.

Dr Elena Jansen is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Children’s Health Research, Queensland University of Technology, in Brisbane Australia. Her current research projects focus on health and learning in the early years of life with a common theme being children’s early relationship with their parental and non-parental caregivers and how these interactions relate to child health and behavioural outcomes. To this end, Dr Jansen uses complex statistical modelling based on large quantitative surveys and more recently employed qualitative methods such as focus groups and observations.