Browsing by Author "Taylor R"

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Adherence to Infant Feeding Guidelines in the First Foods New Zealand Study.
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-11-02) Brown KJ; Beck KL; Von Hurst P; Heath A-L; Taylor R; Haszard J; Daniels L; Te Morenga L; McArthur J; Paul R; Jones E; Katiforis I; Rowan M; Casale M; McLean N; Cox A; Fleming E; Bruckner B; Jupiterwala R; Wei A; Conlon C; Rodríguez Martínez G
Infant feeding guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations to support optimal infant health, growth, and development, and exploring adherence to guidelines is a useful way of assessing diet quality. The aim of this study was to determine adherence to the recently updated Ministry of Health "Healthy Eating Guidelines for New Zealand Babies and Toddlers (0-2 years old)". Data were obtained from First Foods New Zealand, a multicentre observational study of 625 infants aged 7.0-10.0 months. Caregivers completed two 24-h diet recalls and a demographic and feeding questionnaire. Nearly all caregivers (97.9%) initiated breastfeeding, 37.8% exclusively breastfed to around six months of age, and 66.2% were currently breastfeeding (mean age 8.4 months). Most caregivers met recommendations for solid food introduction, including appropriate age (75.4%), iron-rich foods (88.3%), puréed textures (80.3%), and spoon-feeding (74.1%). Infants consumed vegetables (63.2%) and fruit (53.9%) more frequently than grain foods (49.5%), milk and milk products (38.6%), and meat and protein-rich foods (31.8%). Most caregivers avoided inappropriate beverages (93.9%) and adding salt (76.5%) and sugar (90.6%). Our findings indicated that while most infants met the recommendations for the introduction of appropriate solid foods, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding could be improved, indicating that New Zealand families may need more support.
Adolescents’ next-day perceptions of their sleep quality, quantity, sleepiness and sleepiness-related symptoms relative to actigraphy metrics
(Elsevier B V, 2025-09-01) Tang C; Meredith-Jones K; Haszard JJ; Signal TL; Wickham S-R; Muller D; Taylor R; Galland BC
Background: Next-day perceptions of sleep and related symptoms are frequently collected in research and clinical practice, but how they correlate with objective sleep measures in adolescents has received little attention. Methods: Participants were aged 16–17 years and without a sleep disorder, anxiety or depression diagnosis. Seven-day wrist actigraphy was collected alongside daily survey ratings of sleep quality, sufficiency, morning and daytime sleepiness, and sleepiness-related mood and concentration. Within-person associations between daily actigraphic sleep metrics (6 variables representing quantity, quality and timing) and subjective ratings were estimated using mixed effects regression models with participant included as a random effect. Results: The sample comprised 71 adolescents (49 % female, 51 % male). No actigraphy metrics linked to sleep sufficiency ratings. Sleep onset was the strongest correlate of sleep quality and morning sleepiness in the expected direction e.g. every 10 min later onset led to a −1.4 point (95 % CI: −2.1, −0.7) drop in the sleep quality score (5-point scale, higher worse), but significant relationships were only in females. While actigraphic sleep quantity metrics were linked to several ratings, all effect sizes were marginal. Sleep quality metrics in the overall sample were not correlated to any ratings. Unexpectedly, timing and quantity metrics linked to sleepiness-related mood ratings, but in the opposite direction hypothesized. Conclusions: The lack of correlation between objective and subjective sleep quality add to the complexity of defining sleep quality accurately. Sleep onset timing, rarely explored in these types of studies emerged as an important correlate of sleep quality perception and other subjective ratings.
Māori first foods: a Māori centred approach to understanding infant complementary feeding practices within Māori whānau
(Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2022) Rapata H; Heath A-LM; Wall C; Taylor R; Te Morenga L
This study sought to explore infant complementary feeding practices among Māori whānau and the extent to which they may be informed by traditional and culturally specific practices, knowledge, personal beliefs and values. This study also endeavoured to explore how these practices, values and beliefs may have changed across time and between generations. Māori-centred qualitative methods were used within a theoretical framework of Kaupapa Māori and socioecological theories. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s method of thematic analysis to uncover key themes and a new theory for understanding infant feeding among Māori whānau. The themes and theories identified through this project suggest that infant complementary feeding is believed to be a natural and instinctive process for Māori whānau, one that is undergoing a process of decolonisation across generations. These theories indicate that Te Ao Māori centred living, grounded in mātauranga Māori is integral to infant feeding values and practices within Māori whānau. It is also clear that many Māori parents desire more culturally relevant infant nutrition information and support. Our findings should inform future updates to infant complementary feeding guidelines within Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as developments in infant nutrition information and support.
Moe Kitenga: a qualitative study of perceptions of infant and child sleep practices among Māori whānau
(SAGE Publications, 2020-06-21) George M; Theodore R; Richards R; Galland B; Taylor R; Matahaere M; Te Morenga L
Insufficient sleep is a strong risk factor for unhealthy weight gain in children. Māori (the indigenous population of Aotearoa (New Zealand)) children have an increased risk of unhealthy weight gain compared to New Zealand European children. Interventions around sleep could provide an avenue for improving health and limiting excessive weight gain with other meaningful benefits for whānau (extended family) well-being. However, current messages promoting good sleep may not be realistic for many Māori whānau. Using qualitative methods, the Moe Kitenga project explored the diverse realities of sleep in 14 Māori whānau. We conclude that for infant sleep interventions to prevent obesity and improve health outcomes for Māori children, they must take into account the often pressing social circumstances of many Māori whānau that are a barrier to adopting infant sleep recommendations, otherwise sleep interventions could create yet another oppressive standard that whānau fail to live up to.
No Earlier Than 9:45 A.M. A Qualitative Study of Adolescents' Experiences of Later School Start Times in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-03-04) Smith H; Barber C; Taylor R; Signal TL; Hetrick S; Alansari M; Oldehaver J; Galland B
OBJECTIVES: Many teenagers suffer chronic sleep loss, which could potentially be mitigated by later school start times to accommodate the natural shift in their circadian timekeeping system favoring later bedtimes. This study explored experiences of senior students from a school in Aotearoa New Zealand with later school start times. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 students, purposively sampled for equivalent numbers starting later every day (9:45 A.M.), or on just one weekday (10:00 A.M.). Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes were identified that addressed the impact of later starts on sleep struggles, daily functioning, student autonomy, and routines and scheduling. Most perceived later starts as positively influencing their sleep quality, concentration, productivity, and personal well-being. The importance of autonomy over their learning, and impact of different start times on students' schedules was also emphasized. Major disadvantages were lack of free classes and potentially later finish times. CONCLUSIONS: The experiences of later school start times for these adolescents were largely positive across a variety of life domains. Findings support the need for sleep health to be considered within school's health education and policy to address the unmet health concerns of chronic sleep loss in teens.