Predicting dietary intake among children classified as overweight or at risk for overweight: Independent and interactive effects of parenting practices and styles

Abstract

Using baseline data from a randomized controlled pediatric obesity prevention trial, this study sought to examine general parenting style as a potential moderator of the association between feeding-specific parenting practices and child dietary intake. Four hundred and twenty-one parent-child dyads served as participants (49% girls and 93% mothers). Children were, on average, 6.6 years old and either overweight or at-risk for overweight (mean BMI percentile = 84.9). Data were collected in participants’ homes. Study staff measured children’s height and weight. Parents completed questionnaires designed to assess general parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) and child feeding practices (restriction and monitoring). Child dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour recall system. Outcomes were daily servings of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), and unhealthy snacks. Results were as follows: Permissive parenting was inversely associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, and parental monitoring was inversely associated with SSB consumption. There were no other main effects of parenting style or feeding practice on child dietary consumption. Authoritarian parenting moderated the association between restriction and SSB intake (a marginally significant effect after correcting for multiple comparisons). Restriction was inversely associated with SSB consumption when authoritarianism was high but unassociated with SSB consumption when authoritarianism was low. Findings indicate that the parenting practice of monitoring child dietary intake was associated with more healthful consumption regardless of parenting style; interventions may thus benefit from encouraging parental monitoring. The parenting strategy of restricting child dietary intake, in contrast, was associated with lower SSB intake in the context of higher parental authoritarianism but inconsequential in the context of lower parental authoritarianism. This exploratory finding warrants further investigation.

Adapting family‐based treatment for paediatric obesity: A randomized controlled pilot trial

“…Parenting style in general and relation to feeding practices has also been studied in PO. Findings support the theory that authoritative parenting practices, in which parents prioritize what they believe is in their child's best interest while also accommodating some degree of child preferences, are optimal relative to authoritarian or permissive parenting styles and are associated with lower child body mass index (BMI) and increased consumption of healthier foods (Kakinami, Barnett, Seguin, & Paradis, ; Kiefner‐Burmeister, Hoffmann, Zbur, & Musher‐Eizenman, ; Langer, Seburg, JaKa, & Sherwood, ; Shloim, Edelson, Martin, & Hetherington, ; Sokol, Qin, & Poti, ). In fact, parental monitoring may have a curvilinear relationship with children's dietary behaviours whereby it is increasingly health‐promoting only up to a certain level, beyond which it becomes counterproductive (Vaughn et al, ).…”

Patterns of food parenting practices regarding junk food and sugary drinks among parent-child dyads

“…In the study conducted with Hispanic children, as compared to the cluster with low scores for all three parenting practice factors, the cluster with high scores for all three factors and the one with a high score for pressure to eat (but low scores for rules and limits and monitoring) had increased odds of having children with high obesogenic dietary intake (e.g., snack foods, sweets, SSB) [23]. In a pediatric clinic based study conducted with children with overweight or at risk for overweight, higher use of parental monitoring was associated with lower child intake of SSB, but use of restriction was not associated with child intake of SSB [25]. In another study conducted with Dutch adolescents, higher scores for perceived parenting practices involving specific rules about SSB consumption were associated with decreased SSB consumption [9].…”

Authoritarian parenting style predicts poorer glycemic control in children with new-onset type 1 diabetes

“…Higher scores indicate greater use of parenting strategies that correspond with a particular parenting style. Consistent with previous studies, we treated each of the parenting style variables as continuous, given that parents often engage in more than one specific parenting style. For study analyses, we used baseline PSDQ.…”

“…Consistent with previous studies, [26][27][28][29][30] we treated each of the parenting style variables as continuous, given that parents often engage in more than one specific parenting style. For study analyses, we used baseline PSDQ.…”