scholarly journals Maternal perception of child weight and concern about child overweight mediates the relationship between child weight and feeding practices

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Jian Wang ◽  
Daqiao Zhu ◽  
Xuwen Cheng ◽  
Yicong LiuZhou ◽  
Bingqian Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: To examine the mediating effects of maternal perception of child weight (weight perception) and concern about overweight (weight concern) on the paths between child weight and maternal feeding practices. Setting: Pudong District, Shanghai, China. Participants: A convenience sample of 1164 mothers who were primary caregivers of preschool children. Results: Sixty percent of the mothers perceived their overweight/obese children as normal weight or even underweight. The disagreement between actual child weight and maternal weight perception was statistically significant (Kappa = 0.212, P < 0.001). Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that weight perception fully mediated the relationship between child BMI Z-scores and pressure to eat. Weight concern fully mediated the relationships between child BMI Z-scores and the other three feeding practices. The serial mediating effects of weight perception and concern were statistically significant for the paths between child BMI Z-score and monitoring (β = 0.035, P < 0.001), restriction (β = 0.022, P < 0.001), and food as a reward (β = -0.017, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Child weight may influence maternal feeding practices through weight perception and concern. Thus, interventions are needed to increase the accuracy of weight perception, which may influence several maternal feeding practices and thereby contribute to child health.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Wang ◽  
Daqiao Zhu ◽  
Xuwen Cheng ◽  
Yicong LiuZhou ◽  
Bingqian Zhu ◽  
...  

AbstractWe aimed to examine the mediating effects of maternal perception of child weight (weight perception) and concern about overweight (weight concern) on the paths between child weight and non-responsive feeding practices. We recruited a convenience sample of 1164 mothers who were primary caregivers of preschool children. Child body mass index (BMI) Z-score was calculated to assess child weight. The Chinese version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (C-CFQ) was used to measure four common non-responsive feeding practices, weight perception and weight concern. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the associations between child BMI Z-scores, maternal feeding practices, and other covariates. Sixty percent of the mothers perceived their overweight/obese children as normal weight or even underweight. The disagreement between actual child weight and maternal weight perception was statistically significant (Kappa = 0.212, P < 0.001). SEM indicated that weight perception fully mediated the relationship between child BMI Z-scores and pressure to eat. Weight concern fully mediated the relationships between child BMI Z-scores and the other three feeding practices. The serial mediating effects of weight perception and concern were statistically significant for the paths between child BMI Z-score and monitoring (β = 0.035, P < 0.001), restriction (β = 0.022, P < 0.001), and food as a reward (β = -0.017, P < 0.05).ConclusionChild weight may influence maternal feeding practices through weight perception and concern. Thus, interventions are needed to increase the accuracy of weight perception, which may influence several maternal feeding practices and thereby contribute to child health.What is KnownNon-responsive feeding practices may contribute to childhood obesity or eating disorders.Relationships between maternal weight perception and concern, child weight, and feeding practices have been mixed.What is NewChild weight may influence maternal non-responsive feeding practices through maternal weight perception and concern.Interventions are needed to increase the accuracy of caregivers’ perception of child weight which may influence maternal feeding practices and thereby contribute to child health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María Salinas Martínez ◽  
Hid Felizardo Cordero Franco ◽  
Daniela Berenice Estrada de León ◽  
Gloria Estefanía Medina Franco ◽  
Francisco Javier Guzmán de la Garza ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:Mexico ranks first in childhood obesity worldwide. However, little is known about the factors influencing maternal feeding practices. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of feeding practices and explore associations between weight concern, weight perception, sociodemographic characteristics and those feeding practices.Design:Cross-sectional.Setting:North-eastern Mexico.Participants:Mothers aged ≥18 years who were in charge of feeding a singleton child aged 2–6 years with no endocrine disease or visible genetic malformations (n 507). Information on six maternal feeding practices, concern and perception of the child’s weight and demographics were collected by interview. The mother’s and child’s height and weight were measured. The feeding practices questionnaire was subject to content, construct and convergent validity analysis. Then, mean feeding scores were obtained and prevalence and 95 % CI were determined for scores ≥3; multivariate logistic regression was performed.Results:Not modelling (63·5 %; 95 % CI 59·2, 67·8 %) and pressuring to eat (55·6 %; 95 % CI 51·2, 60·0 %) were the most frequent feeding practices, followed by easy access to unhealthy foods (45·4 %; 95 % CI 40·9, 49·8 %) and child control (43·2 %; 95 % CI 38·8, 47·6 %). They prevailed despite concern about the child’s excess weight or a perception of the child as overweight/obese. Education was associated with the highest number of practices (educated mothers used more pressuring to eat, less regulation and less easy access; or monitoring was less absent).Conclusions:The frequency of certain feeding practices needs to be improved. Emphasis on the child’s weight concern, obesity perception and maternal education is essential for optimizing intervention planning.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Lind Melbye ◽  
Håvard Hansen

Purpose – The majority of previous studies on parental feeding practices have focused on the effect of controlling feeding strategies on child eating and weight (i.e. parental influence on children). The present study turns the arrow in the opposite direction, and it aims to test a child-responsive model by exploring the process in which child weight status might influence parental feeding practices, addressing potential mediating effects of parental concern for child weight (i.e. child influence on parents). Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey was performed among parents of 10- to 12-year olds (n = 963). The survey questionnaire included measures of parental feeding practices and parents’ reports of child weight and height. Stepwise regressions were performed to reveal potential mediating effects of parental concern for child weight status on the associations between child BMI and a wide range of parental feeding practices. Findings – Our results suggest a mediating effect of parental concern for child overweight on the associations between child body mass index and controlling feeding practices such as restriction for weight and health purposes and responsibility for determining child portion sizes. Originality/value – This study provides an extension of previous research on parental feeding–child weight relationship. It includes a wider spectrum of feeding variables, and integrates parental concern for both child who is overweight and child who is underweight as potential mediators of the associations between child weight and parental feeding practices. Moreover, it has its focus on preadolescent children, while previous studies have focused on infants and young children.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Williams ◽  
◽  
Maria Petty ◽  
Maria Schimith-Escrivão ◽  
Kyoee Chung ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1666-1666
Author(s):  
Adeyosola Oke ◽  
Marcela Vizcarra Catalan ◽  
Maria Stecher ◽  
Carolina Navarro ◽  
Andiara Schwingel

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the moderating effect of feeding styles on the association between satiety responsiveness and child BMI z-scores in children aged 3-to-5 in Santiago, Chile. Methods Participants were recruited from childcare centers serving low- and middle-income families in 2017 and 2018. During a face-to-face individual interview, the Caregiver Feedings styles Questionnaire and food responsiveness subscale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire were applied to parents. Weight and height were obtained for children and caregivers. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test the moderating effect of feeding styles on the relationship between satiety responsiveness and child BMI z-scores. Results 92.5% of caregivers were mothers, the parent BMI was 29.2 (SD = 5.7). No feeding style moderated the association between satiety responsiveness and BMI z-score Satiety responsiveness had a significant main effect on child BMI z score. None of the feeding styles was significantly associated with child BMI z-score. Only satiety responsiveness was significantly associated with child BMI z score (B = –.32, P &lt; 0.05) after controlling for parent BMI (B = .047, P &lt; .05). This model accounted for 12% of the variance of the child BMI z-score. 1.1% of the children were underweight, 22.4% normal, 37.9% overweight and 38.5% obese Conclusions Parent perceptions of higher satiety responsiveness suggests an association with lower child BMI z-scores. This study suggests that how children respond to food may play an important role in explaining child weight status. than the parent's or caregiver style of feeding in determining a child's weight status. Further research is required to discard interaction effects between appetite traits and feeding styles to explain child weight status. Funding Sources National Comission of scientific Research and Technology (CONICYT) and its Becas Chile program 2016 (#72,110,561) Center of Latin American Studies (CLACS) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Lora ◽  
Paul Branscum ◽  
Sixia Chen ◽  
Dorothy Wakefield

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the relationship of home fruit and vegetable (F&V) availability and maternal feeding practices (restriction, pressure, modeling, monitoring) with preschoolers’ F&V intake. Methods Hispanic mothers (n = 238) of 2-to-5-year-old children from low-income neighborhoods participated in the study. Mothers reported home availability of F&V (whole fruit, fruit juice [FJ], total fruit [FJ and whole fruit combined], and vegetables) in the past month, their feeding practices and their children's F&V consumption (cups) in the past month. Data were collected using one-to-one interviews in English or Spanish. Logistic regression models tested associations of availability of F&V groups and feeding practices with children's intake of ≥ 1 cup per day of total fruit and vegetables as per MyPlate minimum daily recommendation for preschoolers. Results Availability of total fruit and maternal modeling increased the odds of child's consumption of ≥ 1 cup of fruit: Odds ratio (OR) = 2.41; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.56-3.70; P < 0.0001, and OR = 1.73; CI, 1.10-2.74; P < 0.020, respectively. Concurrently, maternal pressure and child's being a female increased the odds of child's consumption of ≥ 1 cup of vegetables: OR = 1.44; CI, 1.10-1.90; P < 0.009, and OR = 1.91; CI, 1.07-3.40; P < 0.028, respectively. Having more children in the home reduced the odds of child's intake of ≥ 1 cup of vegetables: OR = 0.78; CI, 0.61-0.99; P < 0.037. There were no significant associations between children's Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile and children's consumption of F&V or maternal feeding practices. Conclusions Environmental factors within the home appears to influence Hispanic preschoolers’ intake of F&V differently. To increase children's intake of fruit, family interventions should promote home fruit availability and maternal food modeling practices. However, since maternal pressure to eat has not been associated with F&V intake, the significant association between vegetable intake and pressuring children to eat found in this study must be further examined in similar cultural samples to replicate this finding. Funding Sources U54GM104938.


Author(s):  
Annick Xhonneux ◽  
Jean-Paul Langhendries ◽  
Françoise Martin ◽  
Laurence Seidel ◽  
Adelin Albert ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Maternal perception of child weight status in children with overweight or obesity has received a lot of attention but data on paternal perception of children from presumably healthy cohorts are lacking. Objective We aimed to investigate paternal and maternal perception of child weight status at the age of 8 years in a cohort of 591 children from 5 European countries. Material and Methods Included were 8-year-old children and their parents participating in the European Childhood Obesity Project (EU CHOP). Weight and height of children and parents were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2) was calculated. Both parents were asked to assess their perception of child weight status using Eckstein scales and their concern about child overweight. The agreement between mother and father perceptions was assessed by Cohen kappa coefficient and their relationship was analyzed by linear mixed effects models based on ordinal logistic regression, accounting for country, child gender and BMI, parental BMI, level of education, concern and type of feeding during first year of life. Results Data from children and both parents were available for 432 girls and boys. Mean BMI was comparable in boys and girls (16.7 ± 2.31 vs. 16.9 ± 2.87 kg/m2, P = 0.55). In total, 172 children (29.3%) were overweight or obese. There was a high degree of agreement between mother and father perceptions of their child’s weight status (Cohen kappa 0.77). Multivariate modelling showed that perception levels significantly increased with child BMI but were globally lower than assessed. They differed between countries, gender and types of feeding during first year of life, were influenced by education level of the father but were not related to parental BMI and concern about childhood overweight. Conclusions The study showed no overall differences between mothers and fathers in rating their child’s weight status but both parents had a propensity to underestimate their child’s actual weight, particularly in boys. The EU CHOP trial registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00338689.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Alexandra Costa ◽  
Marion Hetherington ◽  
Andreia Oliveira

Abstract What a mother thinks about her child’s weight status, perceiving healthy or overweight might influence concern about child weight and in turn what and how she feeds her child. We examined the association between maternal perception, concern and dissatisfaction with child weight alongside feeding practices. Participants were from the Generation XXI birth cohort (n=3233). A validated version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire and the Overt/Covert Control scale were used. Mothers self-reported perception, level of concern and dissatisfaction with child weight using a Likert scale. Associations were evaluated cross-sectionally at ages 4 and 7 years by linear regression models (β̂ coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) with Bonferroni correction). Perceived underweight was associated with practices promoting food intake, such as higher pressure to eat at ages 4 and 7 years (β̂=0.229;95%CI:0.059,0.398 and β̂=0.190;95%CI:0.005,0.376, respectively) and lower restriction at age 4 (β̂=-0.175;95%CI:-0.0310,-0.039). At age 7, perceived overweight was associated with higher covert control (β̂=0.203;95%CI:0.029,0.376). Mothers who were concerned about child weight reported higher restriction (β̂=0.226;95%CI:0.142,0.310 at 4y and β̂=0.261;95%CI:0.169,0.353 at 7y) and covert control (β̂=0.183;95%CI:0.083,0.282 at 4y and β̂=0.171;95%CI:0.073,0.269 at 7y). Maternal desire for a heavier child was associated with higher pressure to eat at both ages (β̂=0.285;95%CI:0.163,0.406 at 4y and β̂=0.393;95%CI:0.266,0.520 at 7y), while the desire for a thinner child was related to higher covert control at 7 years of age (β̂=0.158; 95%CI:0.001,0.316). Maternal perceptions and concern for child weight status are associated with feeding practices independently of actual weight status.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaat Philippe ◽  
Claire Chabanet ◽  
Sylvie Issanchou ◽  
Sandrine Monnery-Patris

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the associations between young children’s eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), inhibitory control, body mass index (BMI) and several maternal controlling feeding practices (food as reward, restriction for health, restriction for weight control). In addition, to more properly assess the relationship between children’s and maternal variables, the link between EAH and restriction was explored separately in two directionalities: “child to parent” or “parent to child.” To do this, mothers of 621 children aged 2.00–6.97years (51% boys, M=4.11years, SD=1.34) filled in a questionnaire with items from validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed, whatever the directionality considered, a positive association between children’s eating in the absence of hunger and their BMI z-scores. Restriction for health and restriction for weight control were differently linked to EAH and to children’s BMI z-scores. Namely, low child inhibitory control, food as reward and restriction for health were identified as risk factors for EAH. Restriction for weight control was not linked to EAH, but was predicted by child BMI z-scores. Interventions aiming to improve children’s abilities to self-regulate food intake could consider training children’s general self-regulation, their self-regulation of intake, and/or promoting adaptive parental feeding practices.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026010602110328
Author(s):  
Deepa Srivastava ◽  
Lucy R. Zheng ◽  
Dipti A. Dev

Background: Parent feeding practices play a critical role in children’s eating behaviors. Limited research has explored child-level correlates of parent feeding practices. Aim: To identify correlates of feeding practices (responsive and controlling) among parents of preschoolers US. Methods: Participants included parents (n = 273) of preschoolers (3–5 years), recruited from Early Care and Education settings (n = 24) located in a metropolitan city in the US. Analysis included descriptives, correlations, and multiple regression. Results: For responsive feeding practices, positive associations included child's weight with unintentional modeling ( β = .17, 95% CI [0.12, 0.53]), child vegetable consumption with behavioral role modeling ( β = 0.22, 95% CI [0.17, 0.44]), and parent monitoring with verbal modeling ( β = 0.21, 95% CI [0.12, 0.34]). For controlling feeding practices, parent restriction was positively associated with child weight concern ( β = 0.22, 95% CI [0.13, 0.39]) and parent monitoring ( β = 0.13, 95% CI [0.01, 0.19]), whereas child vegetable consumption was negatively associated ( β = −0.16, 95% CI [−0.27, −0.05]). Pressure to eat was negatively associated with child weight concern ( β = −0.18, 95% CI [−0.45, −0.09]), child fruit consumption ( β = −0.12, 95% CI [−0.37, −0.01]), household income ( β = −0.13, 95% CI [−0.30, −0.02]), and parent weight ( β = −0.14, 95% CI [−0.60, −0.05]), Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of child characteristics when examining correlates of parent feeding practices, demonstrating bidirectional interactions between parent feeding practices and children’s eating behaviors. Considering child-level correlates may improve the implementation of responsive feeding practices and reduce controlling feeding practices.


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