These findings underscore the strong relation between portions offered by caregivers and the amounts children consume at a meal and suggest that factors unrelated to the child (such as the amount a parent serves himself or herself) are important predictors of children's consumption. Efforts aimed at improving parents' recognition of developmentally appropriate portions for young children could be useful for future obesity-prevention efforts.

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BackgroundParent feeding styles have been linked to child weight status across multiple studies. However, to our knowledge, the link between feeding styles and children's dietary quality, a more proximal outcome, has not been investigated.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the relation between parent feeding styles and dietary quality of Head Start preschoolers’ dinner meals.DesignThe amount of food served and consumed by children was measured by using a standardized digital photography method during 3 in-home dinner observations of low-income minority families in Houston, Texas. Trained dietitians entered food served and consumed into the Nutrient Data System for Research 2009 for nutrient analysis. Overall dietary quality of the food served and consumed at dinner was evaluated by using the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010). Parent feeding style was assessed with the use of the Caregiver's Feeding Style Questionnaire (CFSQ). On the basis of a parent's level of demandingness and responsiveness to his or her child during feeding, the CFSQ categorizes parent feeding into 4 styles: authoritative (high demandingness and high responsiveness), authoritarian (high demandingness and low responsiveness), indulgent (low demandingness and high responsiveness), or uninvolved (low demandingness and low responsiveness).ResultsFor the overall sample, the mean ± SD HEI score for dinner served was 44.2 ± 8.4, and the mean ± SD HEI score for dinner consumed was 43.4 ± 7.0. In the fully adjusted model, ANCOVA indicated that the authoritative parent feeding style was associated with significantly higher child dietary quality compared with the authoritarian feeding style (mean ± SEE HEI consumed—authoritative 45.5 ± 0.9; authoritarian: 41.9 ± 0.7; P = 0.001).ConclusionsParent feeding style contributes to the overall dietary quality of children, and among low-income minority preschoolers an authoritative feeding style was associated with the highest dietary quality of the 4 feeding styles. Interventions to promote feeding practices that contribute to authoritative feeding are needed to improve the dietary quality of preschool children at dinner. This trial was registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02696278.

SummaryBackgroundSnacking among US preschoolers has increased in recent decades, raising questions about whether snacking contributes to dietary excess.ObjectivesThis research aimed to characterize snacking contributions to dietary excess and to evaluate associations with appetite and weight among preschool‐aged children.MethodsThis study is a cross‐sectional, observational study of 187 Hispanic low‐income preschoolers. Three 24‐h dietary recalls were used to assess snacking frequency and parameters of dietary excess including energy, saturated fat, trans fats and added sugars. Parental reports of child satiety responsiveness, food responsiveness, and enjoyment of food were obtained. Child height and weight were measured.ResultsChildren consumed 28% (395 kcal) of daily energy from snacks eaten at 2.3 ± 1.0 occasions per day. Greater snacking frequency was associated with greater daily intakes of energy (p < 0.05) and added sugars (p < 0.001). Among overweight/obese children, higher enjoyment of food was associated with more frequent snacking and greater energy intake from snacks (p = 0.01). Inverse associations of enjoyment of food with snacking frequency and energy intake were seen among normal weight children (p < 0.05).ConclusionsMore frequent snacking among low‐income Hispanic preschoolers may contribute to excessive intakes of energy and added sugars, particularly among overweight/obese children with greater motivation to eat.