Moms on Nutrition

Survey Reveals Moms' Current Concerns May
Distract Them from The Truly Important Health
and Nutrition Issues Facing Their Children

A recent national survey* revealed that moms are more concerned with individual ingredients rather than their children's overall caloric intake. Since total calories typically determine weight gain and even obesity, parents must understand the basic nutritional facts to keep their kids healthy.

"Many accusations today rely on speculation that tries to link single ingredients, including sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup, to obesity," said Dr. James M. Rippe, cardiologist and biomedical sciences professor at the University of Central Florida. "Americans are eating more of everything - it's the excess calories and sedentary lifestyle that are having the greatest impact."

Healthy Eating Top of Mind, But Focus Often Misplaced

The survey asked 400 mothers from across the country what their biggest nutrition concerns were for their children as they return to school. When asked what they are concerned with when buying food for their children, half responded with sugar (50%), trans fat (50%) and high fructose corn syrup (49%), while only one quarter cited the caloric content of food.

However, having their children eat healthy is also a top priority for parents. The majority of those surveyed (64%) have concerns about their children's health and nutrition as they return to school, despite the fact that nearly 7 in 10 moms (68%) indicate their children's schools have wellness policies. Concerns included that their children won't eat healthful foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy products (20%) and that they will choose junk food when not being supervised or provided with specific food choices (18%).

Survey Key Findings

Moms don't flag calories as a big concern; individual ingredients get more attention than total calories.

• Only about one quarter (26%) of moms surveyed said that calories were "very important"

• About half said that sweeteners, such as sugar and high fructose corn syrup, were "very important"

• Moms cite sugar (50%), and high fructose corn syrup (49%) as equally important to their food purchase decisions

• Saturated fat (47%), fat (36%) and sodium (36%) all were seen as "very important," ahead of calories

School concerns - bring or buy lunch?

• The majority of mothers (64%) have concerns about their children's health and nutrition as they return to school; even though nearly 7 in 10 (68%) of them indicated that their schools have wellness policies, including those eliminating specific foods and beverages (43%)

• Moms' biggest concerns are:

That their kids won't eat healthful foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products (20%)

That they will choose "junk food" when not being supervised or provided specific food choices (18%)

That their kids won't be as physically active as the summer months when school is in session (15%)

Will my children make the right food choices?

• A majority of mothers (68.5%) profess they have trust in their kids to make healthful food choices, yet the vast majority of mothers (84.2%) believe their kids engage and make detrimental food choices at least some of the time when they eat at school

41.8% believe their kids sometimes only eat a little healthy food and then throw the rest away

34.5% guess their children spend more time socializing than eating during their lunch periods

31.8% believe that their children sometimes throw away healthful foods without eating them

19.8% think their children trade their healthy food for less healthy options

13.3% guess their children buy less healthful foods without their knowledge, particularly those moms of teens 15-18 (43.8%)

Parental Control

• Moms feel they have about equal control over their children's diets (50.3%) as the videogames (49.7%) they play when left unsupervised

• Interestingly, mothers of older children - teens aged 15-18 - feel they have more control over their children's diets (68.8%) compared to mothers of younger children 7-14 years old (47.3%)

*Wakefield, a national polling firm, conducted the survey between August 18 and August 25, 2008 using an email invitation and an online survey. Results were collected from a random sample of 400 mothers ages 18 and older. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population.