ARS | Publication request: Food parenting and children's dietary behaviours: Approaching an integrated theoretical framework

Submitted to: International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 1, 2009
Publication Date: June 1, 2009
Citation: O'Connor, T., Hughes, S. 2009. Food parenting and children's dietary behaviours: Approaching an integrated theoretical framework [abstract]. In: The International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Abstract Book, June 17-20, 2009, Lisbon, Portugal. p. 111.

Technical Abstract: We explored the differential influences of parental feeding styles and food parenting practices on children's dietary intake. Simple knowledge-based parent change interventions have generally not been shown to influence children's dietary intake. As a result, increasing attention has been given to the transactions between parents and children surrounding eating. It is accepted that parenting influences child behaviors. However, a great deal of confusion exists regarding the different types of parental influences (e.g., general parenting styles, feeding styles, food parenting practices) on children's dietary outcomes. Most studies linking parent-child interactions to children's dietary intake/weight status have focused on either 1) highly controlling food parenting practices that interfere with specific aspects of children's self-regulation of energy intake or 2) the more global influence of general parenting styles on children's weight status. There is a need to broaden our understanding of food parenting practices, study the relationships among these three parental influences, and better understand how to best intervene with parents to promote healthful food parenting. We discussed the constructs of general parenting styles, parental feeding styles and food-related parenting practices; review methods that have been used to intervene with parents to promote healthful diets in htheir children; Highlight current research investigating associations of child outcomes with feeding styles and food parenting practices. We discussed the potential relationships of general parenting styles, feeding styles and food parenting practices to help guide future research to better understand the mechanisms of parental influence on childrer and develop theory-driven interventions. Teresia O'Connor will introduce the constructs of general parenting styles, feeding styles, and food parenting practices. Melanie Hingle will briefly review published nutrition interventions for children that involved parental components to determine to what extent food parenting behaviors have been targeted and its resulting effect on children's dietary intake. This will be followed by presentations by: Jennifer Fisher on feeding style effects on an intervention to increase low-income children's vegetable preferences and intake; Stef Kremers on the interaction between parenting practices and general child characteristics in the prediction of child dietary intake; and Jane Ogden on the role of overt and covert control in managing children's diets. Sheryl Hughes will wrap up the session by leading a discussion of the possible relationships of general parenting styles, parental feeding styles and food parenting practices and future directions for research in this area.