Abstract
Sugar or foods that contain a lot of sugar divide parents. “Sugar before the first birthday - how dare you?”, “My child gets hyper from sugar” and similar statements can be found in corresponding discussions. These include specific functions that parents attribute to sugar as food. It is not yet clear which specific functions are attributed to sugar and which criteria of the parents favour these attributions. To identify the different functional attributions of sugar in children’s nutrition, qualitative guided interviews were conducted with parents (n= 10) and contributions from internet parent discussions forums were collected. These data were analysed using qualitative text analysis. A quantitative online survey was then conducted, and the functions identified in the qualitative research were related to socio-structural characteristics as well as characteristics of specific parenting and child-rearing styles. Industrial sugar and sugary foods in children’s diets are attributed physiological, psychological, social and cultural functions by parents. These attributions influence not only the place sugar takes in children’s diets, but also perceptions of what constitutes good parenting. The quantitative online survey will reveal whether and which characteristics of parents are associated with specific attributions of function. The analysis shows that some attributed functions of sugar in children’s diets are not scientifically sound, and that parents’ approach to sugar in their children’s diets depends significantly on how they interpret the food as part of their concept of good parenting. Implications for nutrition education and communication can be derived from the results.
Presenters
Tina BartelmeßJunior Professor of Food Sociology, Food Sociology, University of Bayreuth, Bayern, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
SUGAR, CHILDREN'S NUTRITION, PARENTING, SOCIAL FOOD DISCUSSIONS
