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

Abstract

Given the links between parental obesity and eating psychopathology in their children, it is important to understand the mechanisms via which unhealthy relationships with eating are passed from parents to children. The aim was to review research focusing on food-related parenting practices (FPPs) used by parents with overweight/obesity. Web of Science, PubMed and PsycINFO were searched. Twenty studies were included in the review. Single studies suggest differences between parents with healthy-weight vs overweight/obesity with respect to; food accessibility, food availability and modelling. Multiple studies suggest that several parenting strategies do not differ according to parental weight status (child involvement, praise, use of food to control negative emotions, use of food-based threats and bribes, pressure, restriction, meal and snack routines, monitoring, and rules and limits). There was inconclusive evidence with respect to differences in parental control, encouragement and use of unstructured FPPs among parents with healthy-weight vs overweight/obesity. The findings of this review imply some differences between parents with overweight/obesity and healthy-weight and the use of some food-related parenting practices, however they should be interpreted with caution since research remains limited and is generally methodologically weak. The review highlights opportunities for further research and to improve current measures of FPPs and help clarify current study findings.

Exploring the causal effect of maternal pregnancy adiposity on offspring adiposity: Mendelian randomization using polygenic risk scores

“…These results do suggest however that some maternal exposure(s) that are correlated with the maternal BMI PRS have a causal effect on offspring child/adolescent adiposity, although our analyses are unable to distinguish whether this is a pre or postnatal effect. Plausible mechanisms include intrauterine effects such as fetal overnutrition (1) and postnatal effects such as maternal influence on offspring eating behaviour (66), but other mechanisms have been hypothesised, including periconceptional effects (such as altered oocyte structure or function ( 3)). In linear regression analyses we found moderate to strong evidence for associations between the maternal non-transmitted allele BMI PRS and offspring adolescent adiposity.…”

Is the Prospective Link between Parental Stress and Adolescent Snack Intake or Weight Outcome Mediated by Food Parenting Practices?

“…Children and adolescents with overweight or obese parents are more likely to become overweight themselves [ 65 , 66 , 67 ]. Moreover, parents with higher BMI themselves tend to use different (i.e., unhealthier) FPPs than parents with a healthy weight [ 68 ], and might particularly do so in response to stress [ 69 ].…”

Using the RE-AIM framework to identify and describe nutritional feeding styles and intervention model best practices for primary caregivers in Africa: A narrative review

“…Research has shown a strong correlation between parental food preferences and their child’s food preferences, particularly with fruits, vegetables, sweetened beverages, and meats (Galloway et al, 2006; Yavorsky et al, 2015). Food parenting practices (FPPs) are defined as active techniques or behaviors used by parents to influence a child’s food intake (Patel et al, 2018). FPPs have been found to be one of the environmental factors associated with the development of overweight and obesity in childhood and encompass the behaviors used by parents to influence their child’s behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs around food and eating.…”