Preliminary validation of the Parent Mealtime Action Scale and its association with food intake in children from São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The present study aimed to translate the Parent Mealtime Action Scale (PMAS) into Portuguese and to evaluate the factorial structure and the psychometric characteristics of this version. Further, we investigated the associations between parent mealtime actions and the intake of fruits, vegetables and energy-dense foods in 6-10years-old children from São Paulo city, Brazil, controlling for potential confounding variables. A total of 582 parents (86% mothers) answered questions regarding their mealtime actions, their children's food intake, the characteristics of the family meals and their socioeconomic conditions. Factorial analyses grouped all of the 31 questions in the same factors as the original scale, except one item that was transferred to another dimension. Internal reliability and reproducibility analyses obtained satisfactory results. Children who ate fruits and vegetables more frequently had parents who often ate these foods and made them available; these parents also seldom offered their children special meals. Children who more often consumed energy-dense foods had parents who frequently ate this type of food and rarely set limits on its intake. The Portuguese version of the PMAS may be a good tool for evaluating the influence of parent mealtime actions on Brazilian children's food intake.