Fascinating Findings

  • How does a parent’s weight status influence the way they support healthy eating habits in their children?

    This study explored whether parental body composition (including BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentage) was associated with food parenting practices among Canadian families with preschool-aged children. What We Did and Why We Did It We examined data from 41 families participating in the Guelph Family Health Study pilot, including 68 parents and 52 preschool-aged…

  • Are fathers being included enough in childhood obesity prevention programs?

    This study examined how often fathers are included in family-based interventions designed to prevent childhood obesity and identified characteristics of programs that successfully engage fathers compared with those that only include mothers. What We Did and Why We Did It Researchers reviewed 85 family-based childhood obesity prevention interventions published between 2008 and 2015. They examined…

  • How can our genes influence the way we taste food and make food choices?

    This review examined how genetic differences in taste receptors may influence taste perception, eating behaviours, food preferences, and health outcomes. The authors explored how variations in genes related to fat, sweet, bitter, umami, and salt taste may contribute to differences in dietary patterns and chronic disease risk. What We Did and Why We Did It…

  • How can involving families in research make health programs more effective?

    This study examined how involving parents as research partners through a Family Advisory Council helped improve engagement, study design, and retention in the Guelph Family Health Study. What We Did and Why We Did It We created a Family Advisory Council made up of 14 parents who participated in the Guelph Family Health Study. Parents…

  • How do parents’ screen habits and rules influence young children’s screen time?

    This study examined how mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices, such as setting limits, monitoring screen use, and using screens during meals, were associated with screen time among young children. What We Did and Why We Did It We analyzed data from 62 children aged 1.5 to 5 years and their parents who participated in…

  • What strategies can help preschool-aged children eat more dairy and get enough calcium?

    This study reviewed existing nutrition interventions to understand what approaches are most effective at increasing dairy and calcium intake among preschool-aged children. What We Did and Why We Did It The researchers examined 14 intervention studies to identify which strategies, settings, and behaviour change techniques were linked with improvements in children’s dairy and calcium consumption.…

  • Can a home-based healthy lifestyle program for children also improve parents’ health?

    This study examined whether a home-based childhood obesity prevention program designed for families could also improve parents’ body weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage. What We Did and Why We Did It We recruited 44 families with children aged 1.5–5 years from Wellington County, Ontario. Families were randomly assigned to…

  • Does being more sensitive to taste change what flavours we prefer?

    This study examined whether people’s ability to detect and perceive the intensity of different tastes was related to their taste preferences in healthy young adults. What We Did and Why We Did It We recruited 49 healthy adults from the University of Guelph. Participants completed a series of taste tests measuring their ability to detect…

  • Does being more motivated by food than other activities affect a young child’s weight?

    This study examined whether preschool-aged children who were more motivated to work for food than a non-food reward had higher body weight or body fat. What We Did and Why We Did It We recruited 33 children aged 3 years from Guelph, Ontario. During two study visits, children completed a task that measured how hard…

  • Can home-based motivational interviewing help families build healthier habits?

    This study explored whether using motivational interviewing (MI) during home visits was a practical and acceptable approach for supporting families with preschool-aged children to improve health behaviours. What We Did and Why We Did It Researchers examined how well health educators used MI techniques, how parents experienced the intervention, and what lessons could inform future…