Mothers' perceptions of their control over their children's diets

In an era of rising rates of childhood obesity it is increasinglyimportant for parents to ensure their children consume healthydiets. Given current trends in childhood obesity, it would appearthat many parents are failing to engage in effective feeding practices.As mothers remain the major influence on family eatingpatterns (World Health Organisation (WHO) 2000), the extent towhich they consider themselves to be in control their children’sdiets is important as it indicates where possible solutions to childhoodobesity may lie. This paper explores the factors that mothersfeel diminish their control over their children’s diets to provideinsight into why obesity is a growing problem in countries such as Australia despite the ready availability of low-energy nutritious foods and the good intentions of parents.