The world over is experiencing an obesity crisis. One in four kids is overweight or obese in Australia,¹ one in five in the United States,² and one in three in Europe.³ It's a concerning situation because overweight and obesity can lead to a variety of chronic conditions and health problems starting from childhood.⁴

Is buying takeaway and convenience meals part of the problem?

One of the reasons for this crisis is that households are replacing home-cooked meals with pre-packed and takeaway meals that are less filling and nutritious.^5–7 In fact, Australians spend about 32 per cent of their household food budget on takeaway foods.⁷ We only need to read the report by the George Institute of Global Health,⁷ which analysed the healthfulness of Australian fast-food joints using the Health Star Rating system (HSR), to see how unhealthy these foods are.

Now, as a mother, I understand firsthand why parents opt for fast food or convenience meals! Usually, the dilemma is overcoming parental hurdles to cooking homemade meals or giving in to the convenient but less healthy option of buying takeaway/packaged meals.^5–7

The hurdles to overcome

So, what are these hurdles (or barriers) that stand in parents’ way of preparing home-cooked meals and snacks? Well, there are quite a few apparently, but the ones that keep resurfacing in research studies are:

1.  the food preferences of family members like little ‘picky eater’ children (or even adults).^8,9 Parents say they give in to their children’s preferences out of fear that their  children will starve otherwise, or will dislike them.¹⁰

2.  a lack of time to prepare healthy meals (including breakfasts) due to work and other commitments.^4,8,10–13

3.  the higher cost of healthy foods like fruit, vegetables, and meat^9,10,12, 

4.  parental lack of self-efficacy (parental confidence) in planning and cooking healthy meals.^11,14,15 That is, parents can’t cook! And underlying this issue can be a lack of nutrition knowledge.¹⁰

5.  fatigue and a lack of motivation (‘feeling lazy’) to cook – usually the result of too many daily responsibilities including work.^12,16

If you’re one of these parents, recognise that you’re not alone! Things are tough for many of us. The good news is that public health researchers are onto this issue, and while they have a long way to go to find proven methods of overcoming these barriers, they have proposed some preliminary solutions. For example, researchers have concluded that parental education is one way to empower them to make healthier choices.¹⁷ This education can include giving parents the knowledge, skills and behaviours to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat healthily.¹⁸ 

Researchers have also asked parents what solutions they've implemented to overcome these barriers to preparing meals at home. I explore some of these parent-given solutions in another article. For now, what are your views as a parent: do you usually eat convenience meals on weeknights or cook at home and why? Join the conversation on Facebook at Parenting for healthy eating and share your thoughts. You can also read more about how to get your kids to love healthy foods like vegetables at hodamcclymont.com.

References

 1.        Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A framework for monitoring overweight and obesity in Australia [Internet]. 2020 Aug [cited 2023 Jan 1]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/a-framework-for-monitoring-overweight-and-obesity/summary

2.         Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood Overweight & Obesity | Overweight & Obesity | CDC [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2023 Mar 22]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html

3.         World Health Organization. WHO childhood obesity in European Region remains high- new WHO report presents latest country data [Internet]. 2022 Nov. (Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) report (5th in the series)). Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/08-11-2022-childhood-obesity-in-european-region-remains-high--new-who-report-presents-latest-country-data

4.         Martin-Biggers J, Spaccarotella K, Hongu N, Alleman G, Worobey J, Byrd-Bredbenner C. Translating it into real life: A qualitative study of the cognitions, barriers and supports for key obesogenic behaviors of parents of preschoolers | SpringerLink. 2015 [cited 2023 Feb 22];15(189). Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-015-1554-3

5.         Fulkerson JA. Fast food in the diet: Implications and solutions for families. Physiology & Behavior [Internet]. 2018 Sep 1 [cited 2023 Feb 23];193:252–6. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938418301732

6.         Smith KJ, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Blizzard L, Dwyer T, Venn AJ. Takeaway food consumption and its associations with diet quality and abdominal obesity: A cross-sectional study of young adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity [Internet]. 2009 May 28 [cited 2023 Mar 22];6(1):29. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-6-29

7.         The George Insitute of Global Health. FoodSwitch: State of the fast food supply [Internet]. 2020 May. Available from: https://foodenvironmentdashboard.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/203/2021/05/State-of-the-fast-food-supply-2020.pdf

8.         Fulkerson JA, Kubik MY, Rydell S, Boutelle KN, Garwick A, Story M, et al. Focus groups with working parents of school-aged children: What’s needed to improve family meals? Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior [Internet]. 2011 May 1 [cited 2023 Mar 6];43(3):189–93. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1499404610001247

9.         Santiago E, Eck KM, Delaney C, Famodu OA, Olfert MD, Shelnutt KP, et al. “It’s good, It’s Delicious, It’s Great”: Cognitions, barriers, and supports for fruit and vegetable intake of parents and school-aged children. Topics in clinical nutrition [Internet]. 2019 Jun [cited 2023 Mar 24];34(2):100. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/topicsinclinicalnutrition/Abstract/2019/04000/_It_s_Good,_It_s_Delicious,_It_s_Great__.3.aspx

10.       Pescud M, Pettigrew S. ‘I know it’s wrong, but . . .’: a qualitative investigation of low-income parents’ feelings of guilt about their child-feeding practices: Parents’ guilt-inducing child-feeding practices. Maternal & Child Nutrition [Internet]. 2014 Jul [cited 2023 Mar 6];10(3):422–35. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2012.00425.x

11.       Horning ML, Fulkerson JA, Friend SE, Mary Story. Reasons parents buy prepackaged, processed meals: It is more complicated than “I don’t have time.” J Nutr Educ Behav [Internet]. 2017 Jan [cited 2023 Feb 23];49(1):60-66.e1. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225036/

12.       Cook EJ, Powell FC, Ali N, Penn-Jones CP, Ochieng B, Constantinou G, et al. ‘They are kids, let them eat’: A qualitative investigation into the parental beliefs and practices of providing a healthy diet for young children among a culturally diverse and deprived population in the UK. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Internet]. 2021 Jan [cited 2023 Mar 6];18(24):13087. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13087

13.       Dahl AA, Mayfield M, Fernandez-Borunda A, Butts SJ, Grafals M, Racine EF. Dinner planning and preparation considerations of parents with children attending childcare. Appetite [Internet]. 2023 Jan 1 [cited 2023 Mar 6];180:106332. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666322004238

14.       Vos M, Deforche B, Van Kerckhove A, Michels N, Geuens M, Van Lippevelde W. Intervention strategies to promote healthy and sustainable food choices among parents with lower and higher socioeconomic status. BMC Public Health [Internet]. 2022 Dec 19 [cited 2023 Mar 6];22(1):2378. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14817-y

15.       Fultz AK, Baker S, Anderson Steeves E, Trabulsi J, Alvarado AV, Robson SM. Feasibility of implementing a food skills intervention. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics [Internet]. 2022 Aug 1 [cited 2023 Mar 6];122(8):1525-1533.e4. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267222001071

16.       Bel-Serrat S, von der Schulenburg A, Marques-Previ M, Mullee A, Murrin CM. What are the determinants of vegetable intake among adolescents from socioeconomically disadvantaged urban areas? A systematic review of qualitative studies. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity [Internet]. 2022 Dec 26 [cited 2023 Feb 22];19(1):158. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01396-9

17.       Perez-Cueto FJA. An umbrella review of systematic reviews on food choice and nutrition published between 2017 and-2019. Nutrients [Internet]. 2019 Oct [cited 2023 Mar 6];11(10):2398. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/10/2398

18.       Truman E, Elliott C. Barriers to food literacy: A conceptual model to explore factors inhibiting proficiency. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior [Internet]. 2019 Jan 1 [cited 2023 Mar 6];51(1):107–11. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1499404618307425