title: Predictors of the frequency of Australian children's consumption of unhealthy foods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Child obesity interventions need to be based on a sound understanding of the factors that influence children's diets.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between a range of predictor variables and the frequency with which Australian children consume energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods.
  
  
  METHODS
  A web panel provider was used to access 1302 parents of Australian children aged 8-14 years who responded to an online survey about their children's diets. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test a model of the factors contributing to the frequency of children's unhealthy food consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the tested variables, consumption of EDNP foods was primarily influenced by parents' attitudes to these foods, children's pestering behaviours and perceived social norms relating to children's consumption of these products. Both pestering and social norms had significant direct effects on consumption frequency as well as indirect effects via their impact on parents' attitudes to EDNP foods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Environmental factors that contribute to both pestering and social norms are likely to be critical considerations in the development of child obesity interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pettigrew
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jongenelis
authors.affiliation: Cancer Programs Division, Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: SAHMRI Population Health research group, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Perth, SA, Australia.|School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D002253:Carbonated Beverages; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D004032:Diet; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005518:Food Preferences; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D066262:Social Norms; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose
keywords: Parents; path analysis; pestering; social norms