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

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.