Johnson et al article

In “It’s who I am and what we eat. Mothers’ food-related identities in family food choice” by Johnson et al, analysis revealed that mothers with a more defined health identity made healthier choices for themselves and similar food choices for their children. In addition, they exhibited behaviors that positively influenced their children’s food choices. Mothers who struggled to see themselves as healthy indulged with more junk food and indicated feelings of anxiety and guilt. Encouraging mothers to develop and maintain health identities may be one way to improve food and eating habits in families. It’s no secret that mothers are a primary influence on their children’s diet and health. Previous studies have even shown that there’s a relationship between mother’s health and nutrition knowledge, and children’s subsequent decreased intakes of (saturated) fat, cholesterol, sodium and higher intakes in fiber. Scholars even go as far to mention that mothers consider feeding related responsibilities such as providing a nutritious meal for their family as part of being a good mother and central to their identities. Analysis from the study demonstrated that mothers’ food-related identities manifested in three behaviors that influenced their children’s food choices: (1) making foods available at home, (2) putting meals together, (3) providing verbal information about food and health and modeling healthy eating habits. Half of the participants described themselves as being healthy and eating nutritious foods, and as mothers they desired to promote similar healthy eating habits in their children. These mothers emphasized how they provided their children with information about food and health, encouraged children to make ‘‘good’’ food choices (e.g., trying, selecting, eating fruits and vegetables), and modeled eating habits for their children (e.g., eating fruits and vegetables, drinking water, using portion control in eating). On the other hand, this study found mothers who were in charge of family feeding, diet and health but failed to see themselves as being healthy, experienced negative feelings such as guilt and conflict in food related decisions for themselves and their children. These mothers lacked the confidence and positive sentiments that more healthy mothers exhibited when discussing and reflecting on their food choices. Going forward, how can we educate new mothers on the importance of eating healthy, and make healthier food options more readily available for purchase?