The Prospective Associations Between Parental Feeding Practices and Fruit & Vegetable Consumption in Young Children Aged 1 – 6 Years: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Previous research suggests parental feeding practices potentially influence young children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables. Most of this research is cross-sectional, with few studies exploring the longer-term associations. Therefore, this systematic review aims to explore the prospective associations between feeding practices and fruit and vegetable consumption in young children aged 1 – 6 years. Embase, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL were searched on 16/10/2023 for prospective studies assessing feeding practices and fruit and vegetable consumption. The search returned 1597 studies, 14 of which met inclusion criteria (6 randomised controlled trials, 5 observational studies, 3 experiments). Included studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool for cohort studies and were synthesised following Cochrane guidance for a narrative synthesis. Included studies lasted an average of 77 weeks (range: 2 – 468 weeks), yielded a total of 18,137 participants (range: 24 – 12,740), and were mostly (86%) moderate/high quality. Thirteen feeding practices were explored, including four practices relating to coercive control, five relating to structure, and four relating to autonomy support. The most frequently assessed feeding practices were modelling (50% of studies), nutrition education (43% of studies), and pressure to eat (36% of studies). Eleven (79%) of the included studies reported a statistically significant association between at least one feeding practice and children fruit and/or vegetable consumption, with modelling most often having a positive effect. This review suggests that structure-based feeding practices are most consistently associated with fruit and/or vegetable consumption. However, a greater range of feeding practices need to be assessed longitudinally to better understand how they predict children’s fruit and vegetable consumption over time.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.108012
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > Aston Institute of Health & Neurodevelopment (AIHN)
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Psychology
College of Health & Life Sciences
Funding Information: This specific review received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. However, Luke Pullar is supported by a PhD studentship from Aston and Deakin Universities.
Additional Information: Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords: Prospective,Feeding Practices,Fruit and Vegetables,Young Children,Feeding practices,Young children,Fruit and vegetables,General Psychology,Nutrition and Dietetics
Publication ISSN: 1095-8304
Last Modified: 07 May 2025 16:01
Date Deposited: 17 Apr 2025 11:52
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.sci ... 195666325001655 (Publisher URL)
http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2025-07-01
Published Online Date: 2025-04-14
Accepted Date: 2025-04-11
Authors: Pullar, Luke
Jarman, Megan (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-4477-9314)
Spence, Alison C.
Povall, Hannah
Burnett, Alissa J.
Blissett, Jacqueline (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-0275-6413)

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