Views of parents in four European countries about the effect of food on the mental performance of primary school children

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 68; no. 1; pp. 32 - 37
• Main Authors: Gage, H, Egan, B, Williams, P, Györei, E, Brands, B, López-Robles, J-C, Campoy, C, Koletzko, B, Decsi, T, Raats, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.01.2014; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/700/1720; 692/700/2814; 692/700/478; Behavior; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Nutrition; Cognition - physiology; Diet; Economics; Education; Elementary school students; Emotions; England; Epidemiology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Food consumption; Germany; Health aspects; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Hungary; Infants; Internal Medicine; Learning; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Metabolic Diseases; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; original-article; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Psychological aspects; Psychological research; Public Health; Qualitative research; Schools; Sleep; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomics; Spain; Surveys and Questionnaires; Europe; mental performance; European countries; children; Food; parents
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.214

Background/Objectives: Several factors affect the mental performance of children. The importance that parents attribute to food-related determinants, compared with genetic, socio-economic and school environment, was investigated. Subjects/Methods: Parents of school children (aged 4–11) were recruited through state primary schools in four European countries. Interviews were conducted in which participants were asked to sort 18 cards representing possible determinants of four elements of mental performance (attention, learning, mood and behaviour) according to perceived strength of effect. Determinants were identified from the literature and grouped in six categories: food-related, school environment, physical, social, psychological and biological. Effects were scored: 0=none; 1=moderate; and 2=strong. Views were compared between and within countries. Results: Two hundred parents took part (England: 53; Germany: 45; Hungary: 52; Spain: 50). Differences existed between countries in the proportions reporting university education and being in employment. Taking all countries together, parents consider the food category (mean 1.33) to have a lower impact on a child’s mental performance than physical (activity and sleep, 1.77), psychological (mood and behaviour, 1.69) and school environment (1.57). Social (1.12) and biological (0.91) determinants were ranked lower than food. Of determinants in the food category, parents thought regularity of meals had more influence on mental performance (1.58) than what a child eats now (1.36), food at school (1.35), nutrition as a baby/infant (1.02). Conclusion: Scope exists to improve parental awareness of the repercussions of their dietary choices for the mental performance of their children.