Associations between maternal concern about child’s weight and related behaviours and maternal weight-related parenting practices: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundParents influence their children’s weight-related behaviours through their parenting practices, which are often a focal point of obesity prevention interventions. This study examined associations of maternal concern about their child’s weight, dietary intake, physical activity, and media use with maternal food, physical activity, and media parenting practices.MethodsMothers (n = 310) reported their level of concern regarding their child’s weight and related behaviours and their weight-related parenting practices when their child was 5 years of age as part of the Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program. We used linear regression analyses with estimation by generalized estimating equations to examine associations of maternal concern and maternal parenting practices.ResultsSlightly more than 60% of mothers reported at least one concern related to their children’s weight or related behaviours. Excessive media use was the most commonly endorsed concern among mothers (45.2%). Compared to mothers who were unconcerned about their child’s weight, mothers who were concerned about their child weighing too much reported higher levels of controlling feeding practices, i.e., restrictive feeding, lower levels of co-participation of physical activity, and higher levels of using media to control child behaviour. Mothers who were concerned their child weighed too little reported higher levels of controlling feeding practices, i.e., restrictive feeding, pressure to eat. Similarly, mothers who were concerned about their child’s eating (eating too much or too little) reported higher levels of controlling feeding practices. Mothers who were concerned about their child using too much media reported higher levels of using media to regulate their child’s behaviour and providing opportunities for their child to use media.ConclusionMothers who were concerned about their child’s weight, dietary intake, physical activity and media use reported higher levels of controlling parenting practices, i.e., pressure to eat, and lower levels of health promoting parenting practices, i.e., co-participation in physical activity. Longitudinal research is needed to elucidate temporal order and specific mechanisms of these associations.

Associations of Early Parental Concerns and Feeding Behaviors with Child’s Diet Quality through Mid-Childhood

“…Parents awareness regarding their child's overweight risk would have ideally resulted in preventive actions to reduce this risk, such as offering healthier foods to their child. However, studies have shown that greater concern about child's overweight risk was associated with unfavorable parental strategies [31,32] or with a lack of action to prevent weight gain in their children [33]. Developing practical healthy tools for parents might be useful to improve their child's diet in relation to such concerns.…”

Food Parenting Practices among Parents with Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review

“…These results are of interest as previous research suggests that parental weight status is a predictor of the use of coercive FPPs [54]. Parents who struggle with their own eating and weight are more likely to use coercive FPPs with their children [69,96,97] and adolescents [85]. However, the results in the current review, that there appears to be no difference between parental weight and use of coercive FPPs, suggests otherwise.…”

The correlation between maternal mealtime behaviors and children’s body mass index

“…Children's average anthropometric measurements at birth and those now were (respectively; at birth and now) body weight: 3148.0±647. 7 In the study; mothers' mealtime behaviors were presented in Table 1 according to children's characteristics. The first three behaviors with the highest scores in mother mealtime behaviors were daily fruit and vegetable availability, positive persuasion and snack-limits.…”

“…26,27 The relevant literature reported that as feeding practices, mothers mostly try to control children's body weight by restricting food intake or forcing them to eat less or by increasing or decreasing children's direct food intake. 2,[4][5][6][7][8][9] The previous studies especially stated that these practices of mothers are associated with children's weight, restricting behaviors may result in overweightness but repressive practices of mothers may result in low weight in children. 2,[4][5][6]9,16,28 In the current study; mothers were found to have used restrictive and repressive behaviors and practices mostly, to have limited children's eating, drinking and snack amounts, to have increased daily fruit and vegetable consumption and to have used positive persuasion in order to encourage children to eat.…”