Disturbance of food behavior as a predictor of obesity and metabolic syndrome: is possible prevention?

Abstract

Relevance of the study. Eating disorders in children in early childhood are among the leading causes of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. The aim of the study. For the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (obesity, metabolic syndrome) in the future, to carry out the analysis of actual nutrition of children of early age and to identify unfavorable factors influencing the formation of eating behavior. Materials and methods. A survey of 297 parents with children aged 1 to 3 years. The survey is based on the Google Form on-line platform. The platform for the survey was the social network VKontakte, in particular, thematic groups for mothers with children from 1 to 3 years old. The questions were developed taking into account the recommendations set out in the modern normative documents on children’s nutrition. Results. According to the data, only 28% of children had 5 organized meals per day, 51% had 4 feedings per day, 21% had 3 feedings. More than half of the children (52%) had 2 snacks per day. The most common snacks were flour products (30%), as well as vegetables and fruits (27%). Most parents (78%) did not pay attention to the design of dishes, 16% did not provide adequate replacement of dishes that the child refused. It should be noted that 12% of children do not like vegetables. A joint meal was not organized in 7% of families. During the meal, 40% of parents and 23% of children used a TV/tablet/smartphone. There are a large number of families (37%) who visit fast food restaurants (fast food) with young children, while 26% of them offered menu items to children. Conclusion. Identified adverse factors in the formation of eating behavior require changes in the approaches to monitoring a young child on nutritional issues both by a pediatrician and by the implementation of a number of recommendations by parents.