TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring Maternal Socio-Demographic Factors Shaping Children’s Dietary Patterns in Brazil
T2 - Results from the 2019 National Health Survey
AU - Brito, Flávia dos Santos Barbosa
AU - Costa, Emanuela Santos da
AU - Romeiro, Ariane Cristina Thoaldo
AU - dos Santos, Debora Martins
AU - Brito, Alexandre dos Santos
AU - Oliveira, Alessandra Silva Dias de
AU - Adegboye, Amanda Rodrigues Amorim
N1 - This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2024/7/29
Y1 - 2024/7/29
N2 - This study aimed to identify the dietary patterns of Brazilian children aged 6–23 months and to investigate their association with maternal socio-demographic factors. Data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey were used in this cross-sectional study. Mothers of 1616 children aged 6–23 months reported on their children’s dietary intake. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis, and their associations with maternal socio-demographic characteristics were assessed using linear regression models. The first consisted of healthy patterns and the second, unhealthy ones. Linear regression showed that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern was higher among children of mothers who were older (β = 0.02, p = 0.01), had more years of education (β = 0.49, p = 0.04), reported living with a partner (β = 0.29, p = 0.01), and resided in an urban area (β = 0.35, p = 0.01). Conversely, adherence to the unhealthy pattern was positively associated with mothers who declared themselves as black or brown (β = 0.25, p = 0.03). Our results show that older mothers with higher levels of education and paid work and who live with a partner are more likely to contribute to their children’s healthy eating patterns. We conclude that socio-demographic factors may influence the quality of the food offered to children. Nevertheless, advocating for public policies promoting nutritious complementary diets emphasising fresh and minimally processed foods remains crucial for children whose mothers do not possess these favourable socio-demographic characteristics.
AB - This study aimed to identify the dietary patterns of Brazilian children aged 6–23 months and to investigate their association with maternal socio-demographic factors. Data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey were used in this cross-sectional study. Mothers of 1616 children aged 6–23 months reported on their children’s dietary intake. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis, and their associations with maternal socio-demographic characteristics were assessed using linear regression models. The first consisted of healthy patterns and the second, unhealthy ones. Linear regression showed that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern was higher among children of mothers who were older (β = 0.02, p = 0.01), had more years of education (β = 0.49, p = 0.04), reported living with a partner (β = 0.29, p = 0.01), and resided in an urban area (β = 0.35, p = 0.01). Conversely, adherence to the unhealthy pattern was positively associated with mothers who declared themselves as black or brown (β = 0.25, p = 0.03). Our results show that older mothers with higher levels of education and paid work and who live with a partner are more likely to contribute to their children’s healthy eating patterns. We conclude that socio-demographic factors may influence the quality of the food offered to children. Nevertheless, advocating for public policies promoting nutritious complementary diets emphasising fresh and minimally processed foods remains crucial for children whose mothers do not possess these favourable socio-demographic characteristics.
KW - child nutrition
KW - complementary feeding
KW - dietary pattern
KW - socio-demographic factors
KW - mothers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202620460&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph21080992
DO - 10.3390/ijerph21080992
M3 - Article
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 21
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 8
M1 - 992
ER -