Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Theme 7 Theme 8 Theme 9

Consumer Attitudes (Theme 4)
Theme Leader - Dr. Monique Raats

Little is known about consumer attitudes to the concept of early nutrition programming and this has implications for how the results from the project are publicised. Theme 4 investigated the possibilities for disseminating information acquired during the project life time among consumers. The main objectives are listed below:

  • To determine the information sources used by parents to acquire knowledge about matters related to infant care and nutrition in selected EU countries.
  • To evaluate the accuracy of available information on early nutritional programming.
  • To assess parental knowledge about links between early nutrition and childhood/adult health and how this varies with age, gender, education, socio-economic status, health status, health-related behaviours (diet, exercise, smoking), and cultural background.
  • To explore the relationship between infant feeding and weaning behaviours in the first year of life and parental knowledge about links between early nutrition and childhood/adult health.
  • To explore differences between countries in parental knowledge about links between early nutrition and childhood/adult health and their origins in healthcare systems and/or socio-cultural factors.
  • To identify the scope for targeted promotions to improve knowledge about the links between early nutrition and lifelong health.