© American Diabetes Association ®, Inc., 2007
Food Practices and Preferences in Youth With DiabetesAddress correspondence to Nedra K. Christensen, PhD, RD, Utah State University, Nutrition and Food Science Department, 1213 E. 2100 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84106
Objectives. To determine where children with type 1 diabetes eat and with whom, how foods are prepared, their favorite foods, and food issues or conflicts regarding both portioning foods and types of food eaten and to examine the multiple factors that influence food intake in this population.
Methods. Parent-child pairs (n = 299) completed a
questionnaire that focused on where and with whom children eat and how their
food is prepared.
Results. As reported by parents, children (78%) eat meals at home
with the family 46 or more meals per week; 21% eat at home alone
46 or more meals per week; 27% eat at fastfood restaurants 23 or
more meals per week, and 72% eat school lunch 23 or more times per week
(58% almost every day). Confusion regarding portion skills was reported by
13%, 52% measure by "eye balling" only (estimating portions
sizes), and 47% would like more information on portioning. Among parents, 37%
reported disagreements with children over choices of food, and 28% reported
disagreements over food portion sizes; 5% did not care about food portioning
at all. Cooking from scratch was reported by 71% to occur Conclusions. Suggestions for eating at fast-food restaurants and schools; food-portioning skills for home, school, restaurants, and homes of friends; cooking from scratch and from prepackaged foods; incorporating favorite foods; and reading labels on prepackaged foods should be addressed for effective educational sessions.
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