Maternal depression, stress and feeding styles: towards a framework for theory and research in child obesity

Abstract

Against the background of rising rates of obesity in children and adults in the USA, and modest effect sizes for obesity interventions, the aim of the present narrative review paper is to extend the UNICEF care model to focus on childhood obesity and its associated risks with an emphasis on the emotional climate of the parent-child relationship within the family. Specifically, we extended the UNICEF model by applying the systems approach to childhood obesity and by combining previously unintegrated sets of literature across multiple disciplines including developmental psychology, clinical psychology and nutrition. Specifically, we modified the extended care model by explicitly integrating new linkages (i.e. parental feeding styles, stress, depression and mother's own eating behaviour) that have been found to be associated with the development of children's eating behaviours and risk of childhood obesity. These new linkages are based on studies that were not incorporated into the original UNICEF model, but suggest important implications for childhood obesity. In all, this narrative review offers important advancements to the scientific understanding of familial influences on children's eating behaviours and childhood obesity.

Prophylactic effects of sulforaphane on depression-like behavior and dendritic changes in mice after inflammation

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that nutrition could influence the development of numerous psychiatric disorders, including depression [14][15][16][17][18]. A recent meta-analysis including 21 studies demonstrated that high intake of fruit, vegetables, fish and whole grains are associated with a reduced risk of depression [19].…”

Satiety and the Self-Regulation of Food Take in Children: a Potential Role for Gene-Environment Interplay

“…More recent research examining feeding styles – a more global parent feeding measure than practices involving broad parental attitudes regarding feeding – has shown less controlling feeding attitudes to be related to higher child weight status. Specifically using the Caregiver’s Feeding Styles Questionnaire (Hughes et al, 2005) to measure styles, the indulgent feeding (a style in which parents are very responsive to their child during eating episodes but show little structure and boundaries around feeding) has been associated with higher child weight across multiple studies of children ages 3 to 12, see El-Behadli et al [32] for a review. It is posited that lower parental control in feeding may also lessen children’s focus on internal cues of fullness thus reducing self-regulation of eating as well.…”

Associations Between Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Nonresponsive Feeding Styles and Practices in Mothers of Young Children: A Systematic Review

“…It is when the foundations for healthful eating habits that have long-lasting implications for weight status and related comorbidities are established [4,5,7-9]. Several parental characteristics are associated with children’s risk of overweight and obesity including parents’ weight status [1-4], sociodemographic and economic characteristics (eg, income, education) [1-4], and mental health status (eg, depression) [10-19]. Parents, especially mothers, influence their children’s development and maintenance of eating habits and food preferences [2,4-9,10].…”

“…Several parental characteristics are associated with children’s risk of overweight and obesity including parents’ weight status [1-4], sociodemographic and economic characteristics (eg, income, education) [1-4], and mental health status (eg, depression) [10-19]. Parents, especially mothers, influence their children’s development and maintenance of eating habits and food preferences [2,4-9,10]. Parental feeding styles and parental feeding practices have been identified as particularly important influences on children’s eating behaviors during early childhood [5,7,8,9-16,20-24].…”