Some of the sagest advice for moms is if you want your kids to eat healthy, you have to set a good example. Chicago-based market research firm NPD Group recently released results for a report that examined the nutritional attitudes of moms and how they translated their knowledge of healthy foods and good eating habits to their kids.

The report, titled “What’s on the Minds of Moms and How Are They Coping,” explored new and experienced mothers’ concerns when it comes to food purchases and meal preparation. It also explored their and their children’s meal and snacking behaviors, plus how involved children are in meal preparation and how kids influence purchases of selected categories and brands.

The report found that healthy eating is on the minds of many moms, but it’s their eating habits and nutritional knowledge that have the most bearing on what their children eat. Recent NPD food industry market research finds that in households with kids, when the adult female has a good Healthy Eating Index (HEI), a measure of diet quality similar to federal dietary guidance, the majority of kids in the household are eating just as well.

Although moms` healthy eating behaviors impact how their children eat, moms’ attitudes about nutritional eating often do not necessarily align with actual behavior, according to the report.

Although the report did not include specific information about functional foods and dietary supplements, three-fourths of new moms and 65% of experienced moms said they actively seek out foods with nutrition benefits. The study found, however, that moms are less likely to actually eat foods with nutrition benefits.

The report found that fruit, vegetables, ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal, sandwiches and potatoes are among the top foods mothers consume at home, though more than one in three mothers say they often skip meals.

Moms gave themselves high marks when it came to nutritional and healthy eating knowledge. The NPD study, which was written to aid the food and beverage industry in marketing to moms, reported that 67% of moms feel they are extremely or very knowledgeable about nutrition and eating, and 81% of moms feel they are the primary source for nutritional education for their children. Yet when moms are asked to assess their children’s level of nutritional knowledge, few ranked their children extremely or very knowledgeable. A little more than half of children 6- to 17-years old were considered somewhat knowledgeable. One-fourth of moms considered their children 6- to 12-years old not very knowledgeable.

“Theirs and their family’s healthy eating is clearly top-of-mind with moms, and their follow-through on this attitude has a direct impact on their family’s eating behavior,” said Dori Hickey, product development manager and author of the report. “It’s clear by our findings that moms could use help in expanding their and their children’s nutritional knowledge, and the food and beverage industry can help in this regard.”

“Moms are a sizeable and diversified group not only based on their personal characteristics, but in the ways they think, feel and behave,” commented Kim McLynn, a spokesperson for The NPD Group.

She added that the report could help food and beverage manufacturers more effectively market to and develop new products for moms by improving targeting and positioning by understanding similarities and differences in behavior and attitudes among different types of moms (new vs. experienced, working vs. stay at home, etc.); developing products using new insights on kids’ involvement in meal preparation and cooking and level of nutritional knowledge; and enhancing marketing communications by gaining insight into moms’ and kids’ consumption habits and practices and underlying attitudes.