How parents' day-to-day feeding choices shape young children's diets
Official title: Examination of the longitudinal impact of within- and between-day fluctuations in food parenting practices on child dietary intake
Funded at University of Minnesota · NIH-11258947 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows families with children ages 0–11 to see how parents' changing feeding choices during the day relate to what their child eats.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Minnesota NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $644,694 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD110397-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11258947 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are parents or primary caregivers of children aged 0–11 who can use a smartphone and are willing to complete brief, real-time surveys about feeding and meals.
✕Less likely to help
Families without young children, caregivers unable to use a smartphone, or those unwilling to complete frequent short surveys are unlikely to benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If you take part, you and your child would be asked to answer brief surveys on your phone several times a day about feeding moments, mood, time pressures, and activities. The study team will also collect information about what your child eats so they can link meal content to feeding behaviors. Researchers use these real-time reports to map how parents shift between structure, autonomy support, indulgence, or control across and within days. The goal is to understand everyday patterns that influence children's eating over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to practical, moment-to-moment tips to help parents support healthier eating in young children and reduce future chronic disease risk.
How similar studies have gone: Other studies using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) have successfully captured momentary changes in parenting and feeding, but linking these patterns to longer-term child diet and health is still emerging.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Loth, Katie Ann — University of Minnesota
- Study coordinator: Loth, Katie Ann
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Enhancing Parenting Support in Peer Recovery Programs
Aimed at helping parents who are recovering from substance use improve parenting with tailored training and ongoing support.
-
Hope for Stronger Families: improving children's behavior by boosting family finances and parenting in Uganda
This project combines family savings and parenting support programs to help Ugandan families improve children's behavior and well-being.
-
Hope for Stronger Families: supporting family finances and parenting to help children's behavior in Uganda
This project combines savings and economic support with group parenting help to improve children's behavior and family wellbeing in Uganda.
-
Bundle of nutrition, parenting, and health support to boost young children’s development
A group of researchers will test whether adding nutritious foods and responsive caregiving to health services helps children aged 6–30 months grow and develop better.
-
Linking Daily Parental Experiences to Kids' Self-Regulation Growth in Preschoolers
This grant aims to understand how everyday parental experiences and stress influence preschoolers’ ability to manage emotions and behavior over time.
-
Prevention of Maternal Depression Across 25 Years in Diverse Contexts with a Parenting Support Program
A long-term study in low-income families will explore how mothers’ depression changes over 25 years and whether a family-focused parenting program can help reduce depressive symptoms.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.