Food parenting and child snacking: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundWhile the role of parenting in children’s eating behaviors has been studied extensively, less attention has been given to its potential association with children’s snacking habits. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review to describe associations between food parenting and child snacking, or consuming energy dense foods/foods in between meals.MethodsSix electronic databases were searched using standardized language to identify quantitative studies describing associations of general and feeding-specific parenting styles as well as food parenting practices with snacking behaviors of children aged 2–18 years. Eligible peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1980 and 2017 were included. Data were extracted using a standard protocol by three coders; all items were double coded to ensure consistency.ResultsForty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. Few studies focused on general feeding (n = 3) or parenting styles (n = 10). Most studies focused on controlling food parenting practices (n = 39) that were not specific to snacking. Parental restriction of food was positively associated with child snack intake in 13/23 studies, while pressure to eat and monitoring yielded inconsistent results. Home availability of unhealthy foods was positively associated with snack intake in 10/11 studies. Findings related to positive parent behaviors (e.g. role modeling) were limited and yielded mixed results (n = 9). Snacking was often assessed using food frequency items and defined post-hoc based on nutritional characteristics (e.g. energy-dense, sugary foods, unhealthy, etc.). Timing was rarely included in the definition of a snack (i.e. chips eaten between meals vs. with lunch).ConclusionsRestrictive feeding and home access to unhealthy foods were most consistently associated with snacking among young children. Research is needed to identify positive parenting behaviors around child snacking that may be used as targets for health promotion. Detailed definitions of snacking that address food type, context, and purpose are needed to advance findings within the field. We provide suggested standardized terminology for future research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12966-017-0593-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Home Cooking and Child Obesity in Japan: Results from the A-CHILD Study

“…We also found that the significant association between home cooking and obesity disappeared after adjusting for children's eating behaviors, including skipping breakfast and snacking habits ( Table 3, Model 2). In previous systematic reviews examining the association between parental practices and children's consumption of unhealthy foods (including snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages), restrictive parental guidance/rulemaking and control of the availability of unhealthy foods were the practices that were most positively associated with children's consumption of unhealthy foods [43,44]. Children who snack frequently have been shown to consume higher total energy and energy from sugars [45].…”

Influences of Parental Snacking-Related Attitudes, Behaviours and Nutritional Knowledge on Young Children’s Healthy and Unhealthy Snacking: The ToyBox Study

“…However, there is less understanding of parental influences, specifically on children's snacking behaviours [14,15], i.e., energy consumption between meals, particularly in relation to how different healthy or unhealthy snacking habits, might contribute to children's risk of obesity [16]. A recent systematic review of 47 studies on parenting practices that included information on children's snacking found that 39 of these studies concerned parenting practices not specifically related to snacking [17]. Furthermore, the most consistent significant associations were that parental restriction of food was related to higher levels of child snacking, which suggests reactive rather than proactive parenting [17].…”

“…A recent systematic review of 47 studies on parenting practices that included information on children's snacking found that 39 of these studies concerned parenting practices not specifically related to snacking [17]. Furthermore, the most consistent significant associations were that parental restriction of food was related to higher levels of child snacking, which suggests reactive rather than proactive parenting [17]. This reactive parenting appears to be a common response [18], with such parental food restriction also being positively associated with child obesity [19].…”

“…This reactive parenting appears to be a common response [18], with such parental food restriction also being positively associated with child obesity [19]. By contrast, there is a paucity of evidence for beneficial effects of proactive parenting, such as modelling, on children's snacking per se, although the shared family environment is known to explain most of the variance in snack preferences in preschool children [17,20].…”

Intellectual Distraction for Dysmenorrhea

“…The results of the research (Blaine, Kachurak, Davison, Klabunde, & Fisher, 2017) ) show that Restrictive feeding and home access to health are most consistently associated with snacking among young children.…”