Table 3 Reported barriers to healthy eating postpartum among focus group participants with a history of gestational diabetes
Theme | Representative Quotes |
|---|---|
Constraints related to children | "Confusing nutrition labels in store and with kids pulling on you, there is no time to read labels." "When I make healthy meals, my kids won't eat it--they want fast food." "My kids always ask for and get the snacks/junk--cookies, fried foods, so when I try to provide healthy food, they object." |
Time constraints | "I need more time to go to the grocery store and get better at planning out in advance healthy meals and snacks." "Impossible to have the whole family sit down and eat well with schedules" "I would [in the past] count my calories that I took in during the day and I would go to the gym and work it off--I just don't have the time to do that with kids." |
Financial constraints | "Cost of smart shopping is too high." "Going to get a salad at the salad bar costs more than a dollar cheeseburger off the value menu" |
Difficulty at work | "Sweets are difficult because they are often available at work. Meetings have danishes and muffins, cheese plates." "Vending machines at work never have healthy options." |