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Primary caregivers’ influences on young children's eating behaviours: A social marketing perspective
Dissertation   Open access

Primary caregivers’ influences on young children's eating behaviours: A social marketing perspective

Julie Norton
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25907/00441
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Abstract

childhood obesity social marketing primary caregiver influence
Applying marketing theory to social causes and public health issues can invoke behavioural change to improve the welfare of individuals and society (Andreasen 2006). Overweight and obesity are current public health issues globally. Of countries within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), overweight and obesity rates have increased faster in Australia than in any other country over the last 20 years and are projected to rise further during the next 10 years (Sassi 2010). Intervention focused upon preventing overweight and obesity in childhood is a priority (World Health Organisation 2003), as overweight and obesity persist from childhood into adulthood. However, dietary habits are established in childhood and childhood energy intake reflects later weight status. The critical role of children's primary caregivers in shaping young children's eating behaviours is evident in the literature. This qualitative study extends this area by providing insights into primary caregiver attitudes and motivations. Thus, it assists in the development of more effective social marketing endeavours addressing childhood eating behaviours by exploring how and why primary caregivers influence the eating behaviours of young children in an obesogenic environment. This research provides a broader, contextual perspective of the development of childhood eating behaviours, which is absent from the extant literature. Qualitative methods were used in both stages of the research, with a mixed approach of induction and deduction applied. Stage One, the exploratory stage, used the convergent interviewing method and comprised 16 interviews with primary caregivers of children aged one to five years. Stage Two, the main part of the research, used the case study method (Yin 1994). Stage Two was framed using Social Cognitive Theory - a predominant theory for understanding human behaviour (Bandura 1989) - and comprised 24 interviews with primary caregivers of children aged 1-2½ years. The research was conducted on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

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