Influence of lifestyle and eating behaviours on Mediterranean diet adherence in preschoolers from southern Spain

Objective: The present study examined the association of screen and sleep time, physical fitness and eating behaviour with Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence in a sample of preschoolers from Granada, Spain. Design: A cross-sectional, non-randomised design was employed. A multilinear regression model with backward elimination was used for analysis. Setting: Variables included age, screen time, hours of nightly sleep, physical fitness, food approach and food avoidance. The developed model met assumptions of multiple regression in terms of linearity, homoscedasticity, normality, independence and non-multicollinearity. Participants: Data were collected from 653 of the 2250 three-to-six-year-old children attending the eighteen schools invited to take part in the present study. Data on children’s behaviours were parent-reported using validated questionnaires. Results: Better sleep time and lower screen time and food avoidance were found to be predictive of MD adherence. These variables explained 15 % of the variance in preschoolers’ MD adherence. Conclusions: The present study suggests that sleep and screen time and food avoidance are important components to consider when targeting improvements in MD adherence in preschoolers. Future research should explore the way in which parental health behaviours influence their children’s health habits in order to better understand the outcomes

Feeding behavior · Food intake · Health behavior · Health food · Healthy eating · Mediterranean climate · Mediterranean diet · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Nutritional Studies and Diet · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet