Dietary habits are very important for children's health and wellbeing. The following are some effects of eating habits on kids' health:

1.1 Nutrient Intake:

Essential nutrients required for growth and development are provided by a balanced diet. For optimum health, children require sufficient amounts of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Nutrient imbalances or inadequacies brought on by improper eating habits can harm the immune system, growth, and cognitive development.

1.2 Weight management:

 Childhood obesity is a result of unhealthy eating habits, which include consuming large amounts of fast food, sugary drinks, and processed snacks. Numerous health issues, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and joint issues are made more likely by obesity. Promoting good eating practices at an early age can aid in the prevention of obesity and the health problems that go along with it.

1.3 Cognitive Function:

A child's brain growth and cognitive function depend on receiving a healthy diet. Diets high in vitamins, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with enhanced behavior, memory, and cognitive function. On the other hand, diets heavy in saturated fats and refined sugars may worsen cognitive abilities and raise the risk of behavioral disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

1.4 Bone Health:

 Building strong bones and avoiding diseases like osteoporosis later in life require an adequate intake of calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients. Youngsters who eat a diet deficient in these nutrients have an increased risk of fractures and weak bones.

1.5 Immune System Function:

For the immune system to work effectively, it needs a number of minerals, including zinc, selenium, and the vitamins A, C, and E. A balanced diet lowers the risk of infections and diseases in children by promoting a strong immune system. On the other hand, malnutrition impairs immunity, increasing a child's vulnerability to infections.

1.6 Mental Health:

An increasing body of research indicates that food habits may have an impact on children's mental health outcomes. While diets heavy in processed foods, sweets, and unhealthy fats may raise the risk of mental health disorders, diets high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins are linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression.

1.7 Long-term Health:

Childhood-developed eating patterns frequently carry over into adulthood. Healthy eating habits are more likely to be maintained by children as they get older, which lowers their chance of developing chronic illnesses including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer. 

In a study conducted by Rafaela Liberali, Emil Kupek, and Maria Alice Altenburg de Assis (2020), It results that the risk of becoming obese should be decreased by eating a diet lower in obesogenic foods. It guides the concern for dietary pattern management when children are innocent about food choices and they have less concern for nutrients. Six nutritional components were linked to socioeconomic status, indicating that food patterns were socially patterned. Additionally, children born to adolescent mothers, those exclusively breastfed for less than a month, and those who began supplemental feeding before four months of age were linked to higher intakes of snacks and treats and lower intakes of fruits and vegetables. Lastly, six-year-old overweight and obese children showed lower intake of four of the seven dietary components, but one can interpret these findings cautiously because of reporting restrictions on food consumption and the possibility of reverse causality (Santos et al., 2016). The overall high prevalence of poor dietary diversity and the relatively slight differences by socioeconomic class (SES) necessitate those interventions aimed at improving food consumption and diversified dietary intake among Indian children be universal in their targeting (Agrwal et al., 2019).

In adulthood, diet and body composition play a significant role in influencing the risk of chronic diseases. Studying nutrition habits in childhood may offer a chance to treat and prevent chronic disease, as research suggests that dietary patterns "track" from childhood to adulthood. On the other hand, not much is currently known about Indian children's eating habits. Research on the relationships between dietary patterns and body composition in children from Europe has shown that "snacking" and "energy dense" habits are linked to increased fat mass and overweight (Dunn et al., 2000; Shetty 2002; Mikkila et al., 2005; Johnson et al. 2008; Lioret et al. 2008; Misra et al. 2011; Kehoe et al.,2014).

There is a wealth of research indicating that eating habits in children impact the development of caries. Although cross-section studies account for a large portion of this evidence, it is acknowledged that the development of caries is a gradual process, and an individual's caries status may be influenced by their eating habits at a younger age. The difficulty in performing such longitudinal investigations is reflected in the paucity of published studies that link early dietary patterns to the development of caries later on (Lakhanpa et al.,2014).

A mixed method approach has been adopted in this research. Primary date has been collected through structured questionnaire, interview and specific observations. Secondary data in the form of published articles and journals have been considered to get insights on the research question (Research Guides: Public Health Research Guide: Primary & Secondary Data Definitions, 2024). Sample size is 393. The target respondents were parents. 

Testing of Hypothesis H10

Table-1

Correlation  Table

Two sets of statistics, r (correlation coefficient) and p (p-value), are displayed in this correlation analysis table showing the association between children's health and parents' response to dietary patterns.

Correlation Value

This number represents the direction and degree of the linear link between children's health and parents' responses about their dietary patterns. Positive and strong association is shown by the coefficient of 0.56. Essentially, this indicates that children's health tends to rise in tandem with parents' increased response to eating patterns.

p-Value

The hypothesis that the correlation in the population is substantially different from zero is tested by this number. A p-value of less than 0.05 is often regarded as statistically significant in research. The correlation found (r = 0.56) is unlikely to be the result of chance, as indicated by the p-value of <.001 being less than 0.05 in this instance. As a result, you can be very certain that the parents' response to their dietary pattern and the health of their children are statistically related.A significant association was found (r(391) = 0.56, p <.001) between Parents' Response on Dietry Pattern and Children's Health, according to the Pearson correlation analysis.

Testing of Hypothesis H20

Model Summary

Table-2

ANOVA

Table-3

 Table-4

The findings for each independent variable in the model, including the constant (intercept), are displayed in this table. For every unit increase in the corresponding independent variable, the predicted change in the dependent variable Children Health is shown by the unstandardized coefficient B.

To investigate the impact of the variables Parents Response on diet pattern, Diet Ensure Positive Health, and Diet Ensure Mental Strength on the variable Children Health, a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out. This is how the Model Summary should be understood.

The correlation coefficient, or R,

R is the correlation between the model's predictions based on the independent variables and the observed values of the dependent variable, children's health. The observed values and the model's prediction have a very strong positive correlation, as indicated by the R value of 0.83.

R², or R-squared

R2 is the percentage of the dependent variable's variation that the regression model's independent variables can account for. With an R2 of 0.7, your model's independent variables account for 69.51% of the variation in your dependent variable. Put another way, the independent factors may be used to predict 69.51% of the change in children's health.

The R2 value is modified by adjusted R-squared, which takes into account the number of variables and observations in the model. A measure with numerous independent variables is more accurate. In this case, it indicates that around 69.28% of the variation in the dependent variable is explained after controlling for the number of predictors.

According to the regression model, 69.51% of the variation in the variable Children Health could be explained by the factors Parents Response on Dietary Pattern, Diet Ensure Positive Health, and Diet Ensure Mental Strength. To determine if this number deviated substantially from zero, an ANOVA was employed. The effect was shown to be substantially different from zero using the current sample (F=295.65, p = <.001, R2 = 0.7).

The following regression model is obtained through data analysis:

Children Health = 0.06 + 0.18 · Parents Response on dietary pattern + 0.05 · Diet Ensure Positive Health + 0.71 · Diet Ensure Mental Strength

Present study highlights the importance and linkages of dietary pattern on ensuring children’s health and positive health outcomes. Findings can be utilized to frame adequate policy to channelize different stakeholders who can contribute to making a strong dietary choices and availability of nutrias food options to the children. Literature part explain the various facets which can be further utilized to make extension of this empirical investigation in knowing more in-depth and grounded reality of food and children’s wellness. In a country like India, the need is to focus on policy development which caters regional balances in terms of ensuring nutrias food supplies to various communities specially the mid-day meal scheme must be linked with dietary pattern suitable for school children. 

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5. Lakhanpal, M., Chopra, A., Rao, N. C., Gupta, N., & Vashisth, S. (2014). Dietary pattern, tooth brushing habits and caries experience of school children in Panchkula district, India. Ann Public Health Res, 1(1), 1001.

6. Musebe, R. O., & Kumar, P. (2002). Dietary pattern and nutritional status of rural households in Maharashtra. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 15(2), 111-122.

7. Rafaela Liberali, Emil Kupek, and Maria Alice Altenburg de Assis.Dietary Patterns and Childhood Obesity Risk: A Systematic Review.Childhood Obesity.Mar 2020.70-85.http://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2019.0059

8. Research Guides: Public Health Research Guide: Primary & Secondary Data Definitions. (2024). https://researchguides.ben.edu/c.php?g=282050&p=4036581

9. Santos, L. P., Assunção, M. C. F., Matijasevich, A., Santos, I. S., & Barros, A. J. D. (2016). Dietary intake patterns of children aged 6 years and their association with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, early feeding practices and body mass index. BMC public health, 16(1), 1055. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3725-2