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The hypothesis of this study is twofold and states that parental socioeconomic status has an effect on the soft drink consumption of the child, and that this effect is mediated by the soft drink related parenting practices. One thousand six hundred and thirty-nine parents of 2.5-7 year old children from 34 Flemish pre-primary and primary schools, completed a self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, soft drink consumption and soft drink related parenting practices. Causal mediation analyses showed an effect of socioeconomic status on soft drink consumption of the child: children from high socioeconomic status consume 0.42 times the amount of soft drinks of children from lower socioeconomic status. Interestingly, this effect is almost entirely mediated by three soft drink parenting practices: soft drinks served at meals, the child can take soft drink whenever he or she wants and having soft drinks at home., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of parent and child characteristics in explaining children's fruit and vegetable intakes. In 2008, parents of preschoolers (mean age 3.5 years) from 56 schools in Belgium-Flanders completed questionnaires including a parent and child fruit and vegetable food frequency questionnaire, general parenting styles (laxness, overreactivity and positive interactions), specific food parenting practices (child-centered and parent-centered feeding practices) and children's characteristics (children's shyness, emotionality, stubbornness, activity, sociability, and negative reactions to food). Multiple linear regression analyses (n = 755) indicated a significant positive association between children's fruit and vegetable intake and parent's intake and a negative association with children's negative reactions to food. No general parenting style dimension or child personality characteristic explained differences in children's fruit and vegetable intakes. Child-centered feeding practices were positively related to children's fruit and vegetable intakes, while parent-centered feeding practices were negatively related to children's vegetable intakes. In order to try to increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption, parents should be guided to improve their own diet and to use child-centered parenting practices and strategies known to decrease negative reactions to food., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dietary supplement use among Flemish preschoolers and to investigate associations between dietary supplement use and socio-economic variables of the parents. Parentally reported 3-day estimated dietary records (n=696) were used to calculate mean daily nutrient intakes, using Software for Intake Distribution Estimation (Cside). Socio-demographic information and frequency of dietary supplement use were collected via parental questionnaires, including a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) (n=1847). The results from the FFQ revealed that more than 30% of the children used dietary supplements in the past month. Children of more highly educated parents and children of non-smokers were significantly more likely to use supplements than their counterparts. The types most frequently used were multi-vitamin/mineral supplements. Except for vitamin D, mean dietary intakes derived from foods alone was higher than the minimum recommendations for both supplement and non-supplement users. The youngest group of supplement users even exceeded the tolerable upper intake level for zinc (7 mg). However, for vitamin D, dietary supplements could help meet dietary recommendations for this micronutrient. In conclusion, the results indicated that dietary supplement use by healthy children who typically achieve their micronutrient requirements by foods alone could cause excessive intakes. Future studies should investigate potential harms and benefits of dietary supplementation use among preschoolers., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The study investigates the dietary habits of Flemish preschoolers and associations of these habits with both sociodemographic characteristics and the mother's nutritional knowledge and attitudes. A sample of 862 parents of preschoolers from 56 schools completed a questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, a food-frequency questionnaire to assess children's dietary intake, and a nutritional knowledge-and-attitude questionnaire. Regression analysis showed a lower dietary adequacy in children of mothers with low and medium level of education, medium-ranked occupation, and lower levels of both nutritional knowledge and food-related health attitude. The highest excess score (representing items that should be avoided or moderated) was found in children of mothers with low education level, without a job, with three or more children, of age less than 30 years, and possessing lower levels of nutritional knowledge and attitude scores for health and taste. The associations of the dietary adequacy and excess scores with sociodemographic background can help practitioners to develop better-tailored nutrition interventions. The associations with the mothers' nutritional knowledge and attitudes support the inclusion of knowledge and attitudes in dietary interventions., (2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Few preschool children have a diet in line with nutrition recommendations. The school food policy is one of the factors that can influence children's eating habits. Multilevel regression analyses were carried out to test the potential influence of a school's food policy (N=50) on the children's (N=1678; ages 2.5-6.5 year) consumption of fresh fruit, snacks, water, fruit juice, milk, sugared milk drinks and sugared soft drinks. Between-school variation remained significant after controlling for individual level characteristics for fruit juice, sugared milk drinks and fruit. Significant school level variables were availability of sugared milk drinks and having food rules in the school policy.