Ecological Systems Theory which embodies the premise that human behavior cannot be understood without taking into consideration the context in which a person is embedded. So for young children the key is one’s family.

Nutrition

Research has proven that the knowledge a parent has about nutrition is absolutely related to the dietary behaviors in children. However there are many inconsistencies. Because a mother may believe in their child eating enough fruit, that doesn’t mean that she is enforcing vegetables or limiting sweets. This could be the mother’s personal preferences? But this is just an example that there is more to the system than the parent’s knowledge of nutrition.

It has been studied that dietary habits filter through families (most likely because they share the same environment) Perhaps eating together can help let children see what their parents are eating (which can be positive or negative), but if the parents ate a lot of vegetables, perhaps the child would slowly start to eat them as well. It also gives the parents a chance to observe and notice what their child is consuming.

Another study dealt with children growing produce at school. They were more likely to try and like the vegetable. This article claims no study has been done on the role of cooking food and food preferences, but it seems that involvement with the growing/preparation of foods and increased exposure will promote preference.

It also seems that accessibility plays a role. I think this is interesting as I have been thinking about soda and snack machines in schools. The article shares a study in which children eat more carrots if they are 1- in the home 2- cut up into small pieces 3- placed in bags in the fridge where the child can reach them.

Physical Activity

There is a link between parents who are physically active and their children’s level of physical activity. Parents who are physically active are more likely to encourage their children, and take them to sporting events/practices, plan outings around something physical, etc. They are more likely to foster physical activity.

It’s also proven that having access to physical activity will foster what children do. The greater the number of physical activity items the greater the amount of physical activity.

This article also mentions that perhaps parents aren’t using physical activity as a reward, NOR do they reward physical activity (how would you do that anyway?).

Sedentary Behaviors

It’s simple; families who are likely to use TV as recreational tool are more likely to watch more TV. Especially families who watch TV together. Children who have TV’s in their bedroom watch 4.6 more hours of TV than children who do not have TV in their bedroom. Lastly, low-income families may have less media access but report watching more TV.

Looking at this is important in seeing how sedentary behaviors are shaping our bodies. It seems that sometimes TV watching is viewed as a safe distraction, or better than going outside to play in an “unsafe” neighborhood. So how should we regulate this?

 

Family Demographics

This section also revealed a lot of bugs. A qualitative study by Jain and colleagues that asked low income African American mothers about beliefs and issues relating to childhood hood obesity uncovered that:

1- Mothers did not trust growth charts and weight measurements that define overweight and obesity

2- Mothers did not perceive a child to be obese if they had a good appetite and did show restraint when eating

3- Mothers were against denying their children of their requests for food and were happy and proud to be able to afford “treats”

 

Organizational Characteristics

Listen to this scary statistic: high fat food were widely available in a la carte areas with chips/crackers and ice cream/frozen desserts being the most widely available food items compromising approximately 20 per cent of a la carte options. In contrast, fruit and vegetable items comprised only 4.5 percent of the foods available.”

It seems like exposure to physical activity is the same as exposure to foods. Those without PE classes in school are more likely to be un-involved with physical activity. Students not involved with PE may reject their parent’s efforts to bring in physical activities. It’s also evident that students who are involved with PE may be more likely to win their parents support in activities outside of the school time.