Parental feeding patterns and child weight status for Latino preschoolers

Abstract

Objective To examine the relationships between parental patterns regarding child feeding and child Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile in Latino parent-preschooler dyads participating in a clinical trial. Methods This secondary analysis examined data collected during a randomized clinical trial of a culturally tailored healthy lifestyle intervention focused on childhood obesity prevention, Salud Con La Familia. We analyzed 77 Latino parent-child dyads who completed baseline and 3-month follow-up data collection, assessing associations between preschool child BMI percentile and parental response to the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) over time. Results Higher child BMI was related to higher parental CFQ concern scores (r = 0.41, p <.001). A general inverse association between child BMI percentile and parental responsibility was also observed (r = −0.23, p = .040). Over the 3-month period, no statistically significant associations between changes in the CFQ subscale scores and changes in child BMI percentile were identified. Conclusions Child BMI percentile consistent with overweight/obese is associated with parental concern about child weight and child BMI percentile consistent with normal weight is associated with perceived responsibility for feeding. Emphasizing parental responsibility to help children to develop healthy eating habits could be an important aspect of interventions aimed at both preventing and reducing pediatric obesity for Latino preschoolers.

Nutritional style of parents and examination of the effective factors

“…When the children were evaluated by birth weight, it was found that 83.7% of the children were born with a normal birth weight (2500-4000 g), 8.7% were born with a low birth weight (<2 500 g) and 7,7% were born with a high birth weight (>4 000 g). According to the BMI standard deviation score, 79.7% of the children had a normal body weight, 12.3% were obese and 8% had a low body weight.…”

“…Especially in the preschool period, parents are responsible of choosing foods for their children and they try to develop adequate and balanced nutritional behavior by using different feeding methods (2). Parental feeding style is affected by many factors including the perception of the child's weight by the parents (3), the child's weight (2)(3)(4)(5)(6), gender (7), the weight of the parents (8,9) and the economical and education status of the parents (2,10).…”

Feeding Pattern Toward the Increasing of Nutritional Status in Children Aged 1–3 Years

“…Wilayah Kalijudan menepati posisi paling tinggi dengan status gizi sangat kurus 2 balita dan kurus 97 balita. Menurut Karp et al, (2012) menjelaskan bahwa pola makan dan perilaku orang tua seperti memonitor asupan nutrisi, membatasi jumlah makanan, respon terhadap pola makan, dan memperhatikan status gizi anak memberikan dampak yang berarti bagi status gizi anak.…”

Obesity Prevention in Children from Birth to Age 5

“…The feeding relationship is complex between the parent and child; effective feeding provides the groundwork for growth patterns and healthy eating behaviors. 28,106 Parents are role model for food preferences; hence, it stands to reason that children's food preferences are positively correlated to their parent's food preferences. 107 Preschoolers, whose mothers skipped breakfast and did not eat fruits and vegetables, had the highest incidence of poor nutritional status.…”

“…111 Many studies have shown that to implement a lifestyle such as eating a healthy diet, the whole family needs to be involved for food consumption patterns to shift. 106 Thirty-year trends in preschoolers' food choices correspond with the national food supply and are influenced by taste, television, and cultural norms. 111 However, on any given day, preschoolers did not eat a balanced diet; 90% drank milk and ate some type of protein, but only 69.8% ate any vegetables (~60% of the vegetables consumed were potatoes) and 75.6% ate fruit or fruit juice (fruit juice was the predominate fruit).…”