A new study has been published in the US journal Obesity suggesting that parents should display positive emotions when eating something that they in turn want their children to eat.
Researchers taking part in the study found that how much children wanted to eat a certain food was influenced by emotions displayed by people eating it in photographs, with images of people smiling or looking happy while eating making children want the food.
On the other side of the coin, photographs of a person looking 'disgusted' while eating the same foods tended to make the children want it less, the researchers noted.
These results built on a study published in late 2008 in the journal Preventative Medicine, which suggested that parents could increase the amount of fruits and vegetables their children eat simply by eating more themselves.
'We have always known that parents can have a tremendous influence on what their children eat,' said Elizabeth Pivonka, president and CEO of Produce for Better Health Foundation. 'These two studies demonstrate that this influence extends from simply making fruits and vegetables available for their children, to modelling their own enjoyment of eating a healthy diet.'
Ms Pivonka added that parents can help shape eating habits and help them develop a healthy attitude towards food, but also sounded a note of caution.
'Be careful not to send mixed signals,' she explained. 'Don't be the mom who insists that her kids eat breakfast and then skips the meal herself or the dad who tells his kids to eat all their vegetables and then won't eat them herself.'
No comments yet