Toddlers' diet related to mums' education

Friday, 4 July 2003 12:00 AM

The level of maternal education is a significant factor in determining the quality of diet received by children, according to new research published by the Children of the 90s study.

Whether or not the mother is a smoker was also found to be a significant factor, along with her age.

The researchers divided the mothers of 1000 children aged 18 months into those with CSEs or below, those with O-Levels and those with A-Levels or above.

The toddlers' intake of fibre, most vitamins and minerals, wholemeal bread, fruit, and fruit juice increased with maternal education, and the children of the most highly educated mothers ate chocolate, crisps and white bread less often.

Children of the 90s nutritionist Imogen Rogers explains: "These results also show that the children of less educated mothers are less likely to eat diets that follow the healthy eating guidelines".

On this basis, more effort should be made to provide healthy eating information to families in this group, she adds.

Similarly, children of mothers who smoke tended to have significantly higher intakes of mono-unsaturated fatty acids and starch, and lower intakes of fibre. They were also more likely to have drunk sugar-sweetened soft drinks.

Previous studies have shown that adult smokers eat differently to non-smokers, even when results are adjusted for educational background, but this research is among the first to show children's diets are also affected.

The report suggests that because children of smokers eat a diet further removed from healthy eating recommendations, it could be that this dietary deficit that contributes to the adverse health of children of smokers - normally attributed to passive smoking.

The report also reveals that, to a lesser extent, maternal age also affects diet.

Children of mothers aged 25 to 29 were less likely to have consumed wholemeal bread and fruit juice and more likely to have eaten crisps and snacks, compared to children of mothers aged 30 and over.

The Children of the 90s project is following a cohort of almost 14 000 children, born in the early 1990s, and collects detailed information from the families involved through questionnaires, medical records, biological samples, direct measurements (such as periodic weighing and measuring) and DNA profiling.

The aim of the project is to follow the children into adulthood in order to investigate the pre- and post-natal affects of a spectrum of factors (such as diet, education, family background) on a range of outcomes including asthma, delinquency and realisation of education potential.

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