Parents' perspectives and roles in influencing 10-12-year-old children's fruit and vegetable consumption: a qualitative study in Sweden

Background

Parents play a central role in shaping children's health behaviours and dietary habits. Previous research has provided insight into parents' feeding practices, especially regarding preschoolers. Less is known about how parents of 10-12-year-old children, whose fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake is particularly low relative to recommendations, perceive F&V and translate their intentions regarding F&V into everyday practices. This study explored parents' perspectives on F&V, their reasons for serving them, and their experiences of influencing their children's intake.