A recipe for health: A descriptive qualitative study examining paternal influence and the establishment of children's healthy eating habits in Singapore

This study aimed to explore Singaporean fathers' perceived influence over their children's eating habits. A descriptive qualitative study design was used. Convenience sampling was used to recruit fathers of children aged 3–21 years old from a general paediatric outpatient clinic in a tertiary public hospital. Data were collected from September 2023 to January 2024. Fifteen fathers were interviewed until data saturation. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct virtual interviews and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Three themes and nine subthemes were identified. The three themes were: (1) laying a good foundation, (2) circumstances shaping perspectives, and (3) agents of future behavioural change. Fathers perceived themselves as influencing their children's eating habits by laying a good foundation and that their perspectives were influenced by their circumstances such as lack of time and gender roles. Fathers identified elements that could initiate their future behaviour change to better influence their children's eating habits. These findings provide nuanced insights into paternal perceptions, for the future development of father-specific interventions to enhance their influence in promoting good eating habits among their children. Healthcare professionals can encourage paternal involvement through providing health education on healthy nutrition for their children to both mothers and fathers in the clinical setting. Healthcare professionals can also organize hands-on events that teach about food exploration and nutrition for fathers to take part in with their children.