Introduction: The composition of the human gut microbiota, which can also be regulated by the consumption of probiotics, has a significant impact on host health. The main source of probiotics can be foods such as fermented foods, yogurts, fermented drinks and/or probiotic supplements. While parents play a critical role in ensuring the well-being of their children, this cross-sectional study is focused on parents' perspectives regarding the use of probiotics in the preschool period.
Methods: The self-administered online survey consisted of 24 questions arranged across two thematic sections. The final data analysis included 102 parents (96% F; 4% M), aged between 22 and 47. Their children were aged up to 6 years.
Results: The majority (52%) of the parents were familiar with the term 'probiotics' and 86.3% were including probiotics in their children's diet at the time of the survey. The main source was probiotic food (36.3%), of which yoghurt was the most commonly consumed (87.2%). The inclusion of probiotic supplements in a child's diet was positively correlated with parents' consumption and level of knowledge about the term 'probiotics'. Digestive tract-related disorders were the most frequently reported motive for the initial introduction of probiotics into children's diet.
Conclusions: Based on our study results, parents are familiar with probiotics and include them in their children's diet. However, an attempt should be made to close the gaps in parents' knowledge that our research identified. Further studies are needed to determine the recommended amount of probiotic foods, as well as strategies to educate parents about the benefits of including probiotic foods in their children's diet.
Uvod: Sestavo črevesne mikrobiote lahko človek uravnava tudi z uživanjem probiotikov, kar pomembno vpliva na njegovo zdravje. Glavni vir probiotikov so lahko živila, kot so fermentirana živila, jogurti, fermentirane pijače in/ali probiotična prehranska dopolnila. Ta presečna študija je osredotočena na poglede staršev na uporabo probiotikov pri njihovih otrocih v predšolskem obdobju. Starši imajo namreč ključno vlogo pri izbiri hrane in prehranskih dopolnil.
Metode: Spletna anketa je bila sestavljena iz 24 vprašanj v dveh tematskih sklopih. V končno analizo podatkov sta bila vključena 102 starša (96 % Ž; 4 % M) otrok, starih do 6 let. Starost staršev je bila od 22 do 47 let.
Rezultati: Večina (52 %) staršev je poznala izraz probiotik, 86,3 % pa jih je v času raziskave tudi vključila v prehrano svojih otrok. Glavni vir so bila živila, ki vsebujejo žive mikroorganizme s potencialnim probiotičnim učinkom (36,3 %), od tega so najpogosteje zaužili jogurt (87,2 %). Vključitev probiotičnih prehranskih dopolnil v otrokovo prehrano je bila pozitivno povezana s porabo pri starših in nivojem znanja o pojmu probiotiki. Najpogosteje poročan razlog za začetno uvedbo probiotikov pri otrocih so bile motnje prebavnega trakta.
Zaključki: Rezultati naše študije kažejo, da so starši seznanjeni s probiotiki in jih vključujejo v prehrano svojih otrok. Kljub temu so vrzeli v znanju bile ugotovljene in treba bi jih bilo odpraviti. Zaključujemo, da je treba opraviti večje število kliničnih študij, na osnovi katerih bi lahko podali priporočila o dnevnem vnosu probiotičnih mikroorganizmov in oblikovali strategije za izobraževanje staršev o prednostih vključitve probiotičnih živil v prehrano otrok.
Keywords: children’s health; parents’ perspective; preschool period; probiotics.
© 2023 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia, published by Sciendo.