Links between the organization of the family home environment and child obesity: a systematic review

Abstract

Due to increasingly high rates of child overweight and obesity, it is important to identify risk and protective factors that may inform more effective prevention and intervention. The degree of organization in the family home environment is a studied, but not well-specified, factor that may impact child weight. Prior research on household organization has examined an array of constructs, including family routines, limit setting, household chaos, crowding and the broad home environment. This study systematically reviews literature on organization within the family home environment and weight among children ages 2-12. Six hundred thirty-seven studies were reviewed by four coders for eligibility, and 32 studies were included in the final synthesis. Overall, 84% of studies provided evidence for relations between at least one indicator of organization within the family home environment and child weight. Studies provided compelling evidence across several constructs, suggesting that the relevance of household organization to child weight extends beyond a single indicator. Directions for future work include (i) examining the mediating role of health behaviours, (ii) examining the moderating role of socioeconomic factors, (iii) broadening this evidence base across cultures and nationalities and (iv) integrating constructs to develop a comprehensive model of organization within the home environment.

A biopsychosocial approach to processes and pathways in the development of overweight and obesity in childhood: Insights from developmental theory and research

“…Although there is some literature about the development of OW/OB in children dating back to the early 1980s, it is mainly in the last 10 to 15 years that the topic has gained increased attention, partly as a basis for designing intervention and prevention programs . In relation to questions about the etiology of OW/OB, including in childhood, the predominant approach whether from reviews, individual research studies, or in the design of intervention strategies has been one based on correlates, predictors, or risks. These have covered a wide range of factors, including biological determinants (eg, genetic susceptibility and child temperament), an obesogenic environment, children's appetitive traits (eg, eating in the absence of hunger), psychosocial factors (eg, parent feeding styles and practices), ethnic group, cultural and macroenvironmental factors, as well as energy expenditure.…”

“…A comparable argument about identifying developmental processes can be advanced in relation to OW/OB in children. For example, to identify processes in the development of OW/OB, there is a need to relate risk factors such as infant and child temperament, maternal BMI, or a disorganized family environment to child experiences over time (eg, parental emotional feeding or modeling of disinhibited eating) that in turn relate to proximal child behavior (such as the child's own emotional or disinhibited eating and a low ability to self‐regulate energy intake) that result in weight gain and obesity. This can then be described as following a biopsychosocial approach to the development of OW/OB in childhood.…”

Family environment and traumatic dental injuries in adolescents

“…3 Several aspects of the family environment (such as family structure, parental relationship and parenting styles) have been linked with child health. [4][5][6] In addition, family environment can influence the experience of injuries in children. Specifically, the degree to which the caregiver is sensitive and responsive to the child's needs directly impacts on the occurrence of accidents.…”

Residential mobility in early childhood and obesity at kindergarten age among children from the United States

“…Therefore, prevention is essential and may be informed by understanding early‐life correlates of obesity. Ecological developmental models suggest that child health is most influenced by household environments, particularly before children enter school . Organized and stable households are thought to promote child health and development by minimizing stress and cultivating positive parent‐child interactions .…”

“…However, social contexts are largely attenuated by family characteristics and parenting styles. Young children are most influenced by proximal settings, composed of family and home environments, and unlike adolescents or adults, young children lack the ability to independently interact with neighbourhood settings. Therefore, changes to neighbourhood amenities and social characteristics through residential moves may not directly influence young children.…”