ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the needs, motivations, and limitations related to healthy eating and digital materials, as well as to identify patterns for their design as a strategy aimed at Mexican families. DESIGN: A qualitative observational study of the phenomenon through focus group sessions. LOCATION: A public primary education center in the city of Querétaro, Mexico. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 9 to 11 years and parents, mothers, or caregivers with children in primary education. METHOD: Twelve sessions were conducted with three groups of students and two sessions with parents, mothers, or caregivers using an interview guide. Various digital materials, developed based on social cognitive theory, were presented during the sessions. The sessions were recorded with the participants' or their guardians' prior consent and transcribed for analysis. Coding was performed for key points of analysis, and information saturation was confirmed. RESULTS: Students expressed motivation towards digital material that promotes play and experimentation, especially within the family context. The main perceived barrier was the caregivers' resistance to change. Parents expressed motivation and a need for explanatory material on diseases, with economic and time-related barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Digital material based on social cognitive theory, designed to improve nutrition, can be an effective strategy in nutritional education if it considers the circumstances of the target population. It is advisable to include affective and behavioral elements to achieve meaningful learning within households.
Subject(s)
Diet, Healthy , Motivation , Qualitative Research , Humans , Mexico , Child , Female , Male , Adult , Needs Assessment , Focus Groups , Parents/psychology , Parents/education , Caregivers/education , Caregivers/psychology , Health Education/methodsABSTRACT
People's health is closely linked to their diet. Diet can be defined as the set of foods that are consumed in a day, and it is susceptible to being altered by various factors, such as physiological, environmental, psychological, and social. These, in turn, can be affected by an inadequate diet and/or a dysregulation of emotions. Emotions are an immediate response by the organism informing it of the degree of favorability of a certain stimulus or situation. Moods are similar to emotions but more intense and prolonged. Some studies indicate that the consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods may be related to emotional eating. Emotional eating is characterized by the excessive consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods, rich in sugars and fats, in response to negative emotions. But several reports also indicate that emotional eating may be associated with the presence of positive emotions, so further analysis of the available information is necessary. Consuming higher amounts of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods can lead to the accumulation of energy in the body that results in an increase in body weight, as well as other associated diseases. Obesity is the world's leading diet-related health problem. The objective of this work was to carry out a systematic review of the available literature using the Cochrane methodology, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, to evaluate the relationship between emotional eating, the consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods, and indicators of nutritional status. An exhaustive search in different databases yielded 9431 scientific articles, 45 of which met the inclusion criteria. This review underscores the fact that knowing and understanding the reasons why people consume hyperpalatable energy-dense foods and the possible connection with their emotional eating can provide key data for improving and personalizing patients' nutritional treatment. This in turn can encourage compliance with treatment plans to improve people's health and quality of life using an interdisciplinary approach.