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Influence of Nutritional Awareness on Grocery Shopping by Kuwaiti Parents in Relation to Children Nutrition

Background Caregivers, specifically parents, are ultimately responsible for the nutrition of children living in the household, in spite of the children’s preferences for food items. There have been no studies on the relationship between the nutritional knowledge level of Kuwaiti parents who grocery shop and their children’s nutrition. Therefore, this study was carried out to explore grocery shopping patterns of Kuwaiti parents in relation to their children's eating habits. Methods A questionnaire was administered by 4 of the authors through face-to-face interviews with 100 Kuwaiti parents who grocery shop for their families. The questionnaire was designed to cover three main categories: demographics, parents’ nutritional knowledge, and children’s nutrition. Subjects were interviewed at random at 6 supermarket locations. Data were analyzed utilizing a SPSS statistical package and the Chi–Square test was used to examine the association between variables at the p<0.05 level of significance. Results Demographic data of respondents showed that 92% were married, 66% were females, 61% were university graduates, and 84% allowed children to choose food items while shopping. Children’s age ranged from 2 to 18-years. Results indicated that the media was the main source of nutrition knowledge of participants. About 50% were familiar with food labels, 74% were shopping for nutrition claims and most parents (60%) were shopping for low-fat products. Analysis of data revealed several associations among demographics, nutrition knowledge of parents and nutrition of children. Conclusion This study is the first of its type to be carried out in Kuwait. It revealed several important aspects of parents’ background and awareness of nutrition as influencing factors on their grocery shopping. It is hoped that this line of research will be expanded, for the benefit of children’s health and avoidance of future nutrition-related diseases.