An Evaluation of Mothers’ Feeding Attitudes and Anxiety in Preschool Children

Aim:The aim of this study was to determine the anxiety status as well as behaviors and attitudes of mothers about nutrition of their children.Materials and Methods:Mothers of the children between 2 and 5 years of age, who thought that their children had feeding problems, were enrolled into the study. Beyond demographic characteristics, mothers were asked about their feeding behavior by using a child nutrition questionnaire. Body weight and body length measurements of the children were performed; body mass indexes (BMI) were calculated. Percentile (p) values depending on the age and gender were compared with the answers given to the questionnaire.Results:The mean age of the two hundred and eighty-five children was 3.8±1.0 years and 127 (44.6%) of them were girls. Two hundred and seventy six (96.8%) children had weight between 3 and 97 p whereas 9 (3.2%) children had body weight above 97 p; 47 (16.5%) children were overweighed and 30 (10.5%) children were obese. The mean responsibility grade of mothers about feeding their children was 35 points for children whose bodyweight were between 3 and 97 p, and 30 points for those with bodyweight above 97 p (p=0.010).Conclusion:It was detected that 27% of the children whose mothers thought that their child had a feeding problem had BMI over normal range. Mothers do not have sufficient information that may constitute positive samples while feeding their children, and they should be informed about feeding attitudes and habits by healthcare professionals by considering body measures of the child.