A lot of research has been done about children and families. It is known that people who have children are paying more attention to the food that they select. Parents are also concerned about the way their family eats food throughout the day. They want their children to eat a healthy and balanced diet, but also to enjoy food and the experience of a family meal.

But what about the parents themselves?
The research project is looking at how becoming a parent alters the diet and eating habits. Its aim is also to look at what parents think is healthy or unhealthy about their food and the way they eat. Parents might be unhappy about some changes, but might also have developed interesting strategies in order to maintain the diet or eating habits they wish to have despite their eventful daily routine.

"And then it all went downhill"
First results show that although the mothers in the interviews mostly reported an increased interest in and motivation for healthy food and eating, putting that into practice did not turn out to be easy in the crucial years around the birth of their first child.

There were great individual differences – for some, the "drop" in the healthiness of diets and eating came with the pregnancy, for many it was the first months with the baby and for others when returning back to work.

The results indicate that parents might appreciate more practical advice on how to lessen the gap between their good intentions and the reality they face – and mothers in the interviews mentioned quite a lot of little strategies for their daily life that could come in handy. Furthermore, more help could come from the parents surrounding, amongst that also from the food industry in the form of more healthy convenience products or by considering the possible impact on parent's diets and habits when designing food for children.

Contact
Jessica Aschemann-Witzel
Tel: 0045 8948 6486
E-Mail: jeaw@asb.dk