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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study was to assess the effect of parental nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) on their children nutritional behavior and growth. Background Good nutrition is cornerstone for growing children during early childhood and school-age years; children begin to establish habits for eating and exercise that stick with them for their entire lives. If children establish healthy habits, their risk for developing many chronic diseases will be greatly decreased. Participants and methods This was a cross-sectional study through multistage stratified random sampling technique. Bialla district of Kafr-Elsheikh governorate was selected randomly from 10 district of Kafr-Elsheikh governorate. Predesigned questionnaires that assess parents and children (KAP) were then given to parents and children and 120 pairs of completed questionnaires were returned. Results There was no significant correlation between nutritional knowledge (KAP) of parents and nutritional practice of their children (P>0.05), whereas there was a significant correlation between parent«SQ»s knowledge score and healthy food intake in general by children (r = 0.222; P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between nutritional practice of children and their BMI and height, whereas there was significant correlation between nutritional practice of children and their weight. There was a highly significant correlation between social class of parents and their children nutritional behavior; in addition, there is significant correlation between father«SQ»s education and mother«SQ»s education and their children nutritional practice (χ2 = 15.3 and 14.6; P = 0.018 and 0.023, respectively). Conclusion There is no relationship between parents knowledge, attitude, and healthy food intake by their children. Parents education and socioeconomic status constituted important determinants of healthy food intake by their children.

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