The Influence of Parental Feeding Knowledge and Practices on Chinese Children and Adolescents’ Weight Status

Abstract

Background: Child and adolescent overweight is becoming more prevalent in recent decades. It is imperative to investigate the determinants of children and adolescents’ weight outcomes. Methods: Through analyzing the 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2011 waves of survey data released by China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), this paper investigated the gender and rural-urban differences in terms of the ways in which parental feeding knowledge and practices affected the weight status of Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 to 17. Data were collected through random sampling strategy and logistic regression models were built to conduct analyses.Results: The results showed that feeding knowledge and practices varied by parental residence and were different among mothers and fathers. In addition, parental feeding knowledge, parental eating habits and styles, mother’s intervention on children’s food intakes and physical exercise, and the number of meals parents sharing with children showed significant effects on children and adolescents' weight status. Conclusions: As compared to fathers, mothers’ feeding practices showed more significant effects on children and adolescents’ weight status. The manner in which parental feeding practices influenced children and adolescents’ weight status also differed in rural and urban settings. These findings suggested that mothers were still “gatekeepers” of children and adolescents’ food choices and selection; their feeding practices played a more decisive role on Chinese youth’s weight status. The urban-rural differentials highlighted in this research also reminded us that the “one-fits-all” solutions to prevent youth’s obesity should be avoided.