Family Health Climate and Adolescents’ Physical Activity and Healthy Eating: A Cross-Sectional Study with Mother-Father-Adolescent Triads

Niermann, Christina; Kremers, Stef; Renner, Britta; Wöll, Alexander

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143599

Cited by 39 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…The first study was a validation study of the FHC instrument [ 20 ]. In the second study, FHC showed to be associated with adolescents’ physical activity behavior and nutrition behavior and they found that this was mediated by adolescents’ intrinsic motivation [ 21 ]. The current study was the first to investigate the link between FHC (in this case FNC) and parental measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Context matters! The relationship between mother-reported family nutrition climate, general parenting, food parenting practices and children’s BMI

et al. 2016

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BackgroundEfforts to explain children’s nutrition behavior or weight often involve investigating the parent-child relationship, typically studying the associations between food parenting practices (FPPs) and child outcomes. However, these behaviors are embedded in a broader system: general parenting (GP, the general emotional climate at home), and the family health climate (an aspect of the broader family system in the context of health). In the current study, we combined the parent-child measures of parenting (FPPs and GP) and the nutritional dimension of the family health climate (family nutrition climate, FNC) to get a broader view of how these concepts are interrelated. The current study had two aims: predicting FPPs using GP and FNC as predictor variables, and investigating the relationship between FPPs and children’s weight in different groups of parents, based on low and high GP and FNC scores.MethodsWe collected cross-sectional data via an online survey panel. Mothers of 267 children aged 5–12 years filled out a questionnaire assessing demographics (e.g., children’s weight and height), GP, FPPs, and FNC. Bivariate correlation coefficients were calculated between all constructs. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypothesized relationships between GP, FNC and FPPs. Hereafter, different groups of parents were identified, using median split, based on a low or high score on GP or a low or high score on FNC. Bivariate correlation coefficients were calculated between FPPs and children’s BMI z-score for these different groups.ResultsGP and FNC were consistently positively correlated (all r’s ≥.177), and both concepts were positively associated with healthy FPPs (all r’s ≥.214). In families with a positive context (i.e. scoring high on GP and on FNC), healthy FPPs were associated with lower BMI z-scores of the children (r -.229). This association was not found for children with a more negative family context.ConclusionsFNC and GP are valuable additional concepts to investigate relationships between FPPs and child outcomes. We recommend that more studies, next to investigating the parent-child system, include a measure of the broader family system, in order to get a broader view of the mechanisms explaining child health behaviors and weight status.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This variable is assumed to affect the health behavior of all family members and has been operationalized by a scale measuring the family physical activity climate and a scale measuring the family nutrition climate (FNC). The FNC was found to be associated with adolescents’ consumption of fruit, vegetables and salad [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context matters! The relationship between mother-reported family nutrition climate, general parenting, food parenting practices and children’s BMI

et al. 2016

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“…The FHC is a family level variable reflecting an aspect of the shared family environment ( 62 , 63 ). It is defined as the shared perceptions and cognitions concerning a healthy lifestyle within a family.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Dietary Intake in Families: A Cluster-Analysis With Mother-Father-Child Triads

Niermann

Spengler

Gubbels³

2018

Front. Public Health

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Background: The co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors such as physical activity, diet, and sedentary behavior affects individuals' health. Co-occurence of different health behaviors has been shown in a large number of studies. This study extended this perspective by addressing the co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors in multiple persons. The objective was to examine familial health behavioral patterns by (1) identifying clusters of families with similar behavior patterns and (2) characterizing the clusters by analyzing their correlates.Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 198 families (mother, father, and child). Mothers, fathers, and children completed questionnaires assessing health related behaviors (physical activity, consumption of “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods, and screen time), the perception of Family Health Climate (regarding physical activity and nutrition) and demographics. Twelve variables (four health behaviors of three family members) were included in a cluster analysis conducted with Ward's Method and K-means analysis. Chi-square tests and analyses of variance were performed to characterize the family clusters regarding their demographics and their perception of Family Health Climate.Results: Three clusters of families with specific behavioral patterns were identified: “healthy behavior families” with levels of physical activity and consumption of healthful foods above average and levels of media use and consumption of sweets below average; “unhealthy behavior families” with low levels of consumption of healthful foods and high levels of screen time; “divergent behavior families” with unhealthier behavioral patterns in parents and healthier screen time and eating behaviors combined with low physical activity levels in children. Family Health Climate differed between family clusters with most positive ratings in “healthy behavior families” and least positive ratings in “unhealthy behavior families.” “Divergent behavior families” rated the nutrition climate nearly as high as “healthy behavior families” while they rated the physical activity climate nearly as low as the “unhealthy behavior families.”Conclusions: The study shows that co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors occurs on the family level. Therefore, focusing the family as a whole instead of individuals and targeting aspects related to the Family Health Climate in interventions could result in benefits for both children and adults and enhance effectivity of intervention programs.

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“…Obesogenic behaviours, including high screen time [1,2], consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) [3,4] and lack of sleep [5,6] have become more prevalent in children and adolescents in recent years. In addition to age, socioeconomic status (SES), sex [7,8] and parental education [7,9], the family environment has a major influence on children's and adolescent's behaviour [10]. Parents often serve as role models for their children and their parenting style, including family rules and routines, may affect their children's obesity-related behaviours [11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional study of obesogenic behaviours and family rules according to family structure in European children

Stahlmann

Hebestreit

DeHenauw

et al. 2020

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

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Background: There has been an increase in children growing up in non-traditional families, such as single-parent and blended families. Children from such families have a higher prevalence of obesity and poorer health outcomes, but research on the relationship with obesogenic behaviours is limited. Objectives: Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether there are associations between family structures and obesogenic behaviours and related family rules in European children and adolescents. Methods: The sample included 7664 children (mean age ± SD: 10.9 ± 2.9) from 4923 families who were participants of the multi-centre I.Family study (2013/2014) conducted in 8 European countries. Family structure was assessed by a detailed interview on kinship and household. Obesogenic behaviours (screen time, sleep duration, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)) and family rules (rules for computer and television, bedtime routine, availability of SSBs during meals) were determined by standardized questionnaires. Multilevel mixed-effects linear and logistic regression models were used to model the associations of family structure with obesogenic behaviours and family rules. Sex, age, parental education level, number of children and adults in the household and BMI zscore were covariates in the models. Two-parent biological families were set as the reference category. Results: Children from single-parent families were less likely to have family rules regarding screen time (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.40-0.94, p = 0.026) with higher reported hours of screen time per week (β = 2.70 h/week, 95% CI: 1.39-4.00, p < 0.001). The frequency of weekly SSB consumption differed by family structure in a sex-specific manner: girls from single-parent (β = 3.19 frequency/week, 95% CI: 0.91-5.47, p = 0.006) and boys from blended/adoptive families (β = 3.01 frequency/week, 95% CI: 0.99-5.03, p = 0.004) consumed more SSBs. Sleep duration, bedtime routines and availability of SSBs during meals did not differ between children from these family structures. Parental education did not modify any of these associations.

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Family Health Climate and Adolescents’ Physical Activity and Healthy Eating: A Cross-Sectional Study with Mother-Father-Adolescent Triads

Cited by 39 publications

References 63 publications

Context matters! The relationship between mother-reported family nutrition climate, general parenting, food parenting practices and children’s BMI

Context matters! The relationship between mother-reported family nutrition climate, general parenting, food parenting practices and children’s BMI

Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Dietary Intake in Families: A Cluster-Analysis With Mother-Father-Child Triads

A cross-sectional study of obesogenic behaviours and family rules according to family structure in European children

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