Background
Appetite self-regulation is the process by which we stop eating when we are no longer hungry and is a resilience-informed approach to promoting a healthy bodyweight.
Objective
To develop and investigate the acceptability and preliminarily short-term effectiveness of ‘Feeding with HEART’, a parent communication tool designed to reduce parental persuasive feeding behaviours, which are associated with developing appetite self-regulation in children aged 3–6 years, using value-based messaging, storytelling, and metaphor.
Methods
A 2-arm, 1-month pilot randomized controlled trial was undertaken to assess the communication tool. Parents of children aged 3–6 years were randomized to either the intervention group or the usual care group, and underwent study measures at baseline and 1-month follow-up. The Persuasive Feeding sub-scale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire was the primary endpoint.
Results
Overall, 94 participants were randomized to either the intervention (n = 48) or usual care (n = 46) groups. In the Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis (n = 94), the between-group difference in the change from baseline in persuasive feeding behaviors, as assessed by the Persuasive Feeding sub-scale score of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire, improved to a greater extent in the intervention versus usual group (0.22 [SE 0.09]; p < 0.013). Participant feedback was positive, with parents responding particularly favorably to the use of the story which encouraged the caregiver to take their child's point of view and mealtimes.
Conclusions
The ‘Feeding with Heart’ demonstrated preliminary effectiveness in reducing persuasive feeding practices in parents of children aged 3–6 years old when compared with the current standard of care in New Zealand.
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