title: The use of inappropriate feeding practices by rural parents and their effect on preschoolers' fruit and vegetable preferences and intake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the frequency of inappropriate feeding practices used by parents of preschoolers and the impact on a child's preference for and intake of fruits and vegetables (FV).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a telephone interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  A community-based program in rural southeastern Missouri.
  
  
  METHODS
  1555 rural parents participating in the High 5 for Kids project. The mean age of parents was 28.9 years, the mean age for children was 38.0 months, and 52.1% of children were male.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic characteristics; intake and preferences for FV; inappropriate child feeding practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inappropriate feeding practices, preferences for and intake of FV were examined using Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman's correlations. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationships between FV intake and preference and inappropriate feeding practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An increasing number of inappropriate feeding practices negatively impacted FV preference of children but positively impacted FV intake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study documents the public health need to develop programs that guide and advise rural parents on information about how children develop patterns of intake, and how to foster children's preferences and acceptance of healthful food.
authors.affiliation: Saint Louis University, School of Public Health, St Louis, MO 63104-1314, USA. hbante@oasisnet.org
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bante
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harrod
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haire-Joshu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008923:Missouri; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014675:Vegetables