Relationships between Mothers’ Food- and Physical Activity- Related Habits and Level of Preschoolers’ Food Literacy and Motor Skills in Disadvantaged Urban Areas: The Training-to-Health Project

Abstract

Objectives. The practice of physical activity (PA) and correct food choices since pre-school age can help in obesity prevention and that of other chronic disorders. In this process, mothers have an important role, but the relationship with their children’s lifestyle is still unclear in disadvantaged areas. The aim of this study is to explain the extent to which maternal food habits and PA level predict food-related aspects and PA practice in preschoolers from disadvantaged urban areas. Methods. It is a cross-sectional study. A total of 79 dyads of mothers and children were recruited from kindergartens. A questionnaire was compiled by mothers to collect data on: family socio-demographic aspects; mothers’ and children’s dietary intake frequencies, PA/sedentariness, weight and height; mothers’ perception on children’s food intake, children’s food literacy (FL) and Quotient of Gross Motor Development (QGMD). Results. The following associations were discovered: mothers’ and children’s food habits (beta = 0.66, p p p p p p p p p < 0.05). Conclusions. To delineate the global path of the relationships between mothers’ and children’s lifestyles in disadvantaged urban areas can be useful to planning effective interventions aimed to help children and families in maintaining their healthy habits which suddenly changed during COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• mother
• preschooler
• food habits
• physical activity
• association
• disadvantage