Table 6.

Strengths, challenges, and illustrative quotes: Parental perspectives on specific dietary weight-management strategies.

This table is provided to highlight parental perspectives regarding strengths and challenges for each of the dietary interventions discussed, with illustrative quotes.

Low-Fat
Strengths:	Easy substitutions
Challenges:	Tendency to overeat low-fat items Expense of lower-fat options Identifying high-fat/low-fat foods time consuming and confusing
Father: “It’s the money; that stuff’s high.” Mother: “I don’t understand the fat, fat grams, and calories. I will stand in the aisle for an hour reading the back of things.”
Low-Carbohydrate
Strengths:	Allows foods kids like, and limits foods that are over-consumed No need to count calories
Challenges:	Difficult to identify carbohydrate-rich foods Difficult to cut out starches/carbohydrates—low cost, convenience, taste Misconstrued as allowing substitution of whole grains
Mother: “For my child, the low carb kind of tells them what they can and can’t eat. There’s not a lot of you can’t eat this and you can’t eat that.” Mother: “What do you mean by carbohydrate? Starchy food? Bread has a lot of starch…what else?”
Mediterranean
Strengths:	Olive oil is beneficial Good, if like seafood
Challenges:	Inconsistent with typical “kid cuisine” Too complicated Misconstrued as seafood diet
Mother: “The only problem is the fish—I don’t like fish sticks.” Father: “If the adults don’t understand it, then for sure kids not gonna understand it—it’s too confusing.”
Traffic Light
Strengths:	Color-coding child-friendly Promotes child understanding
Challenges:	Difficult to identify red, yellow, green foods Children not used to eating green foods Red foods would be eaten more, despite restriction
Mother: “It’s more of a game than a diet, that’s what I like about it.” Mother: “It would be too complicated, unless it came pre-packaged and pre-ready to go.”