What can meal observations tell us about eating behavior in malnourished children?

Mutoro, A. N. , Garcia, A. L. and Wright, C. M. (2019) What can meal observations tell us about eating behavior in malnourished children? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2197. (doi: 10.3390/ijerph16122197) (PMID:31234377) (PMCID:PMC6617361)

Abstract

Responsive feeding is an important aspect of child care, yet little is known about child eating and caregiver feeding behavior in Kenya. This study aimed to develop a mealtime observation methodology and assess child eating and caregiver feeding behavior in healthy and undernourished children in Nairobi. Healthy (n = 6) and undernourished (n = 13) children aged 6–24 months were observed during a meal, with standardized rating of child interest in food, mood, distraction and caregiver responsiveness. Eating and feeding behavior varied with the stage of the meal. Child interest in food decreased and child and caregiver distraction increased as the meal progressed. Healthy children were happy and interested in food during meals, but undernourished children often had low interest in food (7/13). The 7 undernourished children eating home food were distracted (3) and unhappy (5) but children eating ready-to-use therapeutic foods (6) were all happy and undistracted. Caregivers of healthy children offered encouragement more often during meals than caregivers of undernourished children (5/6 healthy, 3/13 undernourished). Meal observations were resource intensive and could give only a snapshot of the child feeding experience. More efficient research methods that can capture a general assessment of infant eating behavior are needed.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wright, Professor Charlotte and Mutoro, Miss Antonina and Garcia, Dr Ada

Creator Roles

Wright, C. M.: Conceptualization, Writing – review and editing, Supervision
Mutoro, A. N.: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing
Garcia, A. L.: Supervision

• Authors: Mutoro, A. N., Garcia, A. L., and Wright, C. M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1661-7827
• ISSN (Online): 1660-4601
• Published Online: 21 June 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(12): 2197
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License