Family structure and children's eating patterns: secondary analysis of the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 2002.

Abstract

A variety of family and social factors influence children's eating behaviours such as availability of and preference for particular foods, portion size, cultural values regarding food types and preparation, parents' beliefs and practices, mealtime structure and feeding styles. With a decrease in average family size worldwide and many families consisting of one parent or two parents working outside the home, the influence of family structure on children's eating patterns is of interest.