Reale, S, Kearney, CM, Hetherington, MM orcid.org/0000-0001-8677-5234 et al. (5 more authors) (2018) The Feasibility and Acceptability of Two Methods of Snack Portion Control in United Kingdom (UK) Preschool Children: Reduction and Replacement. Nutrients, 10 (10). 1493. ISSN 2072-6643
Abstract
Large portions of high energy dense (HED) snacks are offered to children from a young age and are pervasive in our food environment. This study aimed to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of two strategies of snack portion control: reduction and replacement. Forty-six mother-child dyads aged 22–56 months (36.6 ± 9.5 m, 48% female) completed a three-week intervention. In week 1 (baseline) no changes were made to the child’s diet; week 2 (acclimation) children received a standardised selection of HED snacks, and in week 3 (intervention) participants were randomly assigned to snack replacement (n = 24) or snack reduction (n = 22). Snack replacement involved swapping HED snacks for fruits and vegetables, whilst snack reduction involved reducing the size of HED snacks by 50%. Food and energy intake were measured using a weighed food diary for four consecutive days. Snack replacement resulted in more positive changes to children’s diets; vegetable intake increased (p < 0.01), and total daily energy intake decreased when compared to snack reduction (p < 0.05). Mothers expressed a more favourable attitude to snack replacement, although snack reduction was also well received by mothers. Despite increased preliminary efficacy of snack replacement on dietary intake, both strategies were feasible and acceptable. The current pilot study provides the necessary information to inform the design of future interventions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | portion size; snack reduction; snack replacement; preschool children; feasibility; acceptability |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Jan 2019 16:18 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2019 16:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/nu10101493 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:141308 |