Chapter 3 Parental Feeding Practices and Child Weight Status in Mexican American Families: A Longitudinal Analysis

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.

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Relationships of family history of disease and child weight status to child routines: Multi‐mediating effect of parental feeding practices and perception of child's weight

Nursing and Health Sciences ◽

10.1111/nhs.12607 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 359-366 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

So Hyun Park ◽

Hanjong Park

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Weight Status ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Parental Feeding Practices ◽

Child Weight ◽

Child Routines ◽

Parental Feeding ◽

History Of Disease ◽

History Of

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Parental feeding practices and associations with child weight status. Swedish validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire finds parents of 4-year-olds less restrictive

Appetite ◽

10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.027 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 81 ◽

pp. 232-241 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Paulina Nowicka ◽

Kimmo Sorjonen ◽

Angelo Pietrobelli ◽

Carl-Erik Flodmark ◽

Myles S. Faith

Keyword(s):

Weight Status ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Parental Feeding Practices ◽

Child Weight ◽

Child Feeding Questionnaire ◽

Parental Feeding

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Fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status in Mexican American families

Appetite ◽

10.1016/j.appet.2017.06.016 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 117 ◽

pp. 109-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Carlos Penilla ◽

Jeanne M. Tschann ◽

Julianna Deardorff ◽

Elena Flores ◽

Lauri A. Pasch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mexican American ◽

Weight Status ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Mexican American Families ◽

American Families

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

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980016002834 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 848-858 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

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.

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

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11102433 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2433 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

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Preferred Child Body Size and Parental Underestimation of Child Weight in Mexican-American Families

Maternal and Child Health Journal ◽

10.1007/s10995-016-1987-z ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (9) ◽

pp. 1842-1848 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Lauri A. Pasch ◽

Carlos Penilla ◽

Jeanne M. Tschann ◽

Suzanna M. Martinez ◽

Julianna Deardorff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Mexican American ◽

Mexican American Families ◽

Child Weight ◽

American Families

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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

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1093/ajcn/nqy241 ◽

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.

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