Child weight and parental feeding practices: a child-responsive model

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Lind Melbye ◽  
Håvard Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Weight Status ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Parental Concern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Child Weight ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Wide Range

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.

scholarly journals Controlling feeding practices and maternal migrant background: an analysis of a multicultural sample

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 848-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Somaraki ◽  
Karin Eli ◽  
Anna Ek ◽  
Louise Lindberg ◽  
Jonna Nyman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Status ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
University Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Migrant Background ◽  
Child Weight ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Confounding Variables

AbstractObjectiveParental feeding practices shape children’s relationships with food and eating. Feeding is embedded socioculturally in values and attitudes related to food and parenting. However, few studies have examined associations between parental feeding practices and migrant background.DesignCross-sectional study. Parental feeding practices (restriction, pressure to eat, monitoring) were assessed using the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Differences were explored in four sub-samples grouped by maternal place of birth: Sweden, Nordic/Western Europe, Eastern/Southern Europe and countries outside Europe. Crude, partly and fully adjusted linear regression models were created. Potential confounding variables included child’s age, gender and weight status, and mother’s age, weight status, education and concern about child weight.SettingMalmö and Stockholm, Sweden.SubjectsMothers (n1325, representing seventy-three countries; mean age 36·5 years; 28·1 % of non-Swedish background; 30·7 % with overweight/obesity; 62·8 % with university education) of pre-school children (mean age 4·8 years; 50·8 % boys; 18·6 % with overweight/obesity).ResultsNon-Swedish-born mothers, whether European-born or non-European-born, were more likely to use restriction. Swedish-born mothers and Nordic/Western European-born mothers reported lower levels of pressure to eat compared with mothers born in Eastern/Southern Europe and mothers born outside Europe. Differences in monitoring were small. Among the potential confounding variables, child weight status and concern about child weight were highly influential. Concern about child weight accounted for some of the effect of maternal origin on restriction.ConclusionsNon-European-born mothers were more concerned about children being overweight and more likely to report controlling feeding practices. Future research should examine acculturative and structural factors underlying differences in feeding.

scholarly journals Interaction Effects of Child Weight Status and Parental Feeding Practices on Children’s Eating Disorder Symptomatology

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Schmidt ◽  
Andreas Hiemisch ◽  
Wieland Kiess ◽  
Anja Hilbert
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Child Weight ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Eating Disorder Psychopathology ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptomatology

(1) Background: Research on parental feeding practices and non-normative eating behavior including loss of control (LOC) eating and eating disorder psychopathology indicated separate associations of these variables with child weight status, especially in early childhood. This study cross-sectionally examined interaction effects of restriction, monitoring, pressure to eat, and children’s weight status on disordered eating in children aged 8–13 years. (2) Methods: A population-based sample of N = 904 children and their mothers completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire for Children and the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Child anthropometrics were objectively measured. Hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted for cross-sectionally predicting global eating disorder psychopathology and recurrent LOC eating by feeding practices and child weight status for younger (8–10 years) and older (11–13 years) ages. (3) Results: Restriction x Child weight status significantly predicted global eating disorder psychopathology in younger children and recurrent LOC eating in older children. Monitoring x Child weight status significantly predicted eating disorder psychopathology in older children. A higher versus lower child weight status was associated with adverse eating behaviors, particularly in children with mothers reporting high restriction and monitoring. (4) Conclusions: Detrimental associations between higher child weight status and child eating disorder symptomatology held especially true for children whose mothers strongly control child food intake.

scholarly journals An exploration of the longitudinal relation between parental feeding practices and child anthropometric adiposity measures from the West Midlands Active Lifestyle and Healthy Eating in Schoolchildren (WAVES) Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 1316-1323
Author(s):  
Kiya L Hurley ◽  
Miranda J Pallan ◽  
Emma R Lancashire ◽  
Peymane Adab ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Status ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Height Ratio ◽  
The West ◽  
Active Lifestyle ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
Waist To Height Ratio

ABSTRACT Background Some research suggests that parent or carer feeding practices may influence children's weight patterns, but longitudinal evidence is limited and inconsistent. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between various parent or carer feeding practices when a child is aged 7–8 y and proxy measurements of child adiposity at age 8–9 y (weight status, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat percentage). Design The study was a secondary analysis of data from the West Midlands Active Lifestyle and Healthy Eating in Schoolchildren (WAVES) Study comprising a diverse sample of parents and carers and their children from 54 primary schools in the West Midlands, England [n = 774 parent-child dyads (53% of the WAVES study sample)]. Information on feeding practices was collected with the use of subscales from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire, completed by the child's main parent or carer (self-defined). Child height, weight, bioelectrical impedance, and waist circumference were measured and converted into 3 proxy measurements of adiposity (weight status, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat percentage). Associations between these measurements and parent or carer feeding practices were examined with the use of mixed-effects logistic regression models. Results Of the questionnaire respondents, 80% were mothers, 16% were fathers, and 4% were other carers. Median standardized subscale scores ranged from 1.7 (emotion regulation: IQR = 1.0) to 4.0 (monitoring and modeling: IQR = 1.5), and significantly different subscale scores were present between child weight statuses for emotion regulation, pressure to eat, and restriction for weight control. Logistic regression modeling showed that when baseline adiposity measures were included as covariates, all associations between parental feeding practices at age 7–8 y and measures of adiposity at age 8–9 y were attenuated. Conclusions Observed relations between various parental feeding practices and later adiposity are mitigated by inclusion of the baseline adiposity measure. This finding lends support to the theory of reverse causation, whereby the child's size may influence parental choice of specific feeding practices rather than the child's subsequent weight status being a consequence of these feeding practices.

Family factors and fruit and vegetable consumption in Chinese preschool children living in Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 122-133
Author(s):  
Ruth Chan ◽  
Suey Yeung ◽  
Cynthia Leung ◽  
Sing Kai Lo ◽  
Sandra Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Parenting Style ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Family Factors ◽  
Authoritative Parenting ◽  
Chinese Family ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Authoritative Parenting Style

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of various family factors with children’s fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional analysis of data from 601 parent-child dyads with children aged three to six years old was conducted. Parents completed questionnaires on child’s FV intake, parenting styles, parental feeding practices, family functioning, television viewing at mealtimes and frequency of family meals. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between various family factors and the likelihood of meeting the child’s daily FV recommendation with adjustment for different demographic variables. Findings Multivariate model adjusting for sociodemographic data indicated that meeting vegetable recommendation was associated with lower frequency of dining with grandparents (Odds ratio (OR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.99, p=0.031) and positively associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.09–1.21, p<0.001). Meeting fruit recommendation was associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.09–1.17, p<0.001), higher frequency of dining with grandparents (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00–1.10, p=0.041), lower frequency of dining with father (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82–0.98, p=0.014) and higher score on authoritative parenting style (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.08, p=0.009). Originality/value This study highlights the potential protective roles of various family factors, in particular authoritative parenting style and parental feeding practices, such as role modeling, moderate restrictive practices for less healthy foods, avoidance of forced feeding, and not using junk food as reward in relation to meeting FV recommendation in children. The role of grandparents in influencing the young children’s eating behaviors within the Chinese family warrants further investigation.

scholarly journals Sibling eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings: similar or different?

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (13) ◽  
pp. 2415-2423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerica M Berge ◽  
Allan D Tate ◽  
Amanda Trofholz ◽  
Katherine Conger ◽  
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Emotional Eating ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Child Eating

AbstractObjectiveLittle is known about whether siblings have similar or different eating behaviours or whether parents tailor their feeding practices to different siblings. The main objectives of the present study were to examine similarities and differences in child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings and to determine whether child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices differ depending on sibling concordant (i.e. both siblings overweight or healthy weight) or discordant (i.e. one sibling overweight and one sibling healthy weight) weight status.DesignCross-sectional, mixed-methods study.SettingIn-home visits were conducted by research staff. Surveys were conducted with parents and anthropometry was collected on parents and siblings.SubjectsChildren (n 88) aged 6–12 years (mean age 9 (sd 2) years), their parents (mean age 34 (sd 7) years) and near-age siblings (mean age 9 (sd 4) years) from diverse racial/ethnic and low-income households participated.ResultsResults indicated that siblings with higher BMI engaged in higher levels of emotional eating compared with siblings with lower BMI. Additionally, results indicated that when families had sibling dyads discordant on weight status, the sibling who was overweight had higher food enjoyment and lower levels of food satiety. Additionally, within siblings with discordant weight status, parents were more likely to use restrictive feeding practices with the overweight sibling and pressure-to-eat and encouragement-to-eat feeding practices with the healthy-weight sibling.ConclusionsFamily-based childhood obesity interventions may need to assess for sibling weight status when researching the home environment and intervene with parents to avoid using restriction or pressure-to-eat feeding practices when siblings are discordant on weight status.

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