Family Functioning: Associations With Weight Status, Eating Behaviors, and Physical Activity in Adolescents

Abstract

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between family functioning (e.g. communication, closeness, problem solving, behavioral control) and adolescent weight status and relevant eating and physical activity behaviors. Methods Data are from EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens), a population-based study that assessed eating and activity among socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse youth (n = 2,793). Adolescents (46.8% boys, 53.2% girls) completed anthropometric assessments and surveys at school in 2009–2010. Multiple linear regression was used to test the relationship between family functioning and adolescent weight, dietary intake, family meal patterns, and physical activity. Additional regression models were fit to test for interactions by race/ethnicity. Results For adolescent girls, higher family functioning was associated with lower body mass index z-score and percent overweight, less sedentary behavior, higher intake of fruits and vegetables, and more frequent family meals and breakfast consumption. For adolescent boys, higher family functioning was associated with more physical activity, less sedentary behavior, less fast food consumption, and more frequent family meals and breakfast consumption. There was one significant interaction by race/ethnicity for family meals; the association between higher family functioning and more frequent family meals was stronger for non-white boys compared to white boys. Overall, strengths of associations tended to be small with effect sizes ranging from - 0.07 to 0.31 for statistically significant associations. Conclusions Findings suggest that family functioning may be protective for adolescent weight and weight-related health behaviors across all race/ethnicities, although assumptions regarding family functioning in the homes of overweight children should be avoided given small effect sizes.

Breakfast frequency among adolescents: associations with measures of family functioning

“…Berge et al studied daily breakfast consumption and family functioning by measuring family communication, closeness, problem solving and behavioural control (20) . Franko et al studied breakfast frequency and family cohesion measured by emotional bonding, supportiveness, family boundaries and spending time together (24) .…”

“…However, it could be hypothesized that a shared meal may lead to better family functioning. Others have found an association between family functioning and shared family meals (20) and the family meal has been used as a measure of family functioning (61) . The applied family functioning measures are widely used and the internal reliability has been tested in the present study sample.…”

“…Family functioning includes interpersonal interactions between parent and child such as problem solving, communication, roles, adaptability, warmth/closeness and behaviour control (18,19) . Low family functioning is associated with health outcomes and health behaviours such as overweight (20,21) , sedentary behaviour (20) and low intake of fruit and vegetables (20,22,23) . Franco et al suggested that adolescents who experience a high level of family communication and support are more susceptible to parents' advice about breakfast consumption (24) .…”

Understanding the relationship between family communication and the development of weight stigma

“…In addition, family communication, specifically the expression of emotion, is associated with thoughts of disordered eating (Arroyo & Segrin, 2013;Segrin & Flora, 2011). Berge, Wall, Larson, Loth, and Nuemark-Sztainer (2013) found that family functioning was related to adolescents' health behaviors, such as eating fruits and vegetables, physical activity level, and weight. Moreover, family communication patterns directly affect health attitudes (Baiocchi-Wagner & Talley, 2013) and body dissatisfaction (Taniguchi & Aune, 2013).…”

“…Family communication is related to health outcomes in children and adolescents (Arroyo & Segrin, 2013;Baiocchi-Wagner & Talley, 2013;Berge et al, 2013), but there is no research in terms of how family communication affects children's perceptions of others' health.…”