The relationship between caregivers' feeding practices and children's eating behaviours among preschool children in Ethiopia

Abstract

Preschool age is a time when distinct eating behaviours are formed. Eating behaviours have been associated with underweight and poor growth as well as with overweight. However, the relationship between caregivers' feeding practices and children's eating behaviours remains poorly understood in developing countries. This study aims to evaluate the association between caregivers' feeding practices and eating behaviours among preschool children in Ethiopia. We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study among 542 caregivers of children aged between three and six years old. We used the Children Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and the Child Feeding Questionnaire to measure eating behaviour and caregivers' feeding practices respectively. A multiple linear regression was fitted to determine the association between caregivers' feeding practices and the multiple scales of children's eating behaviour while adjusting for potential confounders. Children whose caregivers practice food restriction tended to be more food responsive (β = .23, p < .001), tend to emotionally overeat (β = .09, p < .01), enjoy food more (β = 0.23, p < .001) and have more desire to drink (β = .24, p < .001). Meanwhile, children whose caregivers practiced pressure to eat were fussier about food (β = .09, p < .001), were more satiety responsive (β = .13, p < .001) and tended to eat slower (β = .10, p < .01). In Ethiopia, where under- and over-nutrition coexist among pre-school children, the results from this study underscore the importance of investigating eating behaviours at an early age, as these eating styles may contribute to children's poor nutritional status. It is also essential to include appropriate child eating behaviour and specific feeding practices components, together with responsive feeding in national nutritional programmes to improve the nutritional status of children aged 24-59 months.

Keywords: Children; Eating behaviour; Ethiopia; Feeding practices.