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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306940
Title: Parents perceptions of preschool children's ability to regulate eating. Feeding style differences

Author
item FRANKEL, LESLIE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item CHEN, TZU-AN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item POWER, THOMAS - Washington State University
item HUGHES, SHERYL - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Appetite
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/27/2014
Publication Date: 2/14/2014
Citation: Frankel, L.A., O'Connor, T.M., Chen, T., Nicklas, T.A., Power, T.G., Hughes, S.O. 2014. Parents perceptions of preschool children's ability to regulate eating. Feeding style differences. Appetite. 76:166-174.

Interpretive Summary: Parent feeding styles have been associated with children's eating behaviors and weight status across multiple studies. However, little is known about the mechanism through which parent feeding styles influence child weight status. Children's ability to self-regulate their eating may be the mechanism that links these two concepts. This study examined the relationship between parent feeding styles, child self-regulatory ability, and weight status to determine whether self-regulatory ability influences the relationship between parent feeding styles and child weight status. In this study, we demonstrated that low-income Hispanic and black children of parents with an indulgent feeding style were rated lower in satiety responsiveness and higher in their enjoyment of food compared to children of parents with authoritative, authoritarian and uninvolved feeding styles. Understanding the nature of the relationships between parent feeding style, children's ability to regulate energy intake and child body weight is an important step for people interested in developing interventions because clinicians may be able to tailor interventions specifically to parent feeding styles.

Technical Abstract: Parent feeding styles have been associated with children's eating behaviors and weight status across multiple studies. However, little is known about the mechanism through which parent feeding styles influence child weight status. Children's ability to self-regulate their eating may be the mechanism that links these two constructs. This study examined the relationship between parent feeding styles, child self-regulatory ability, and weight status to determine whether self-regulatory ability mediated the relationship between parent feeding styles and child weight status in a group of 296 parents and their preschool aged children. Indulgent feeding style was related to children having lessened satiety responsiveness and higher enjoyment of food (two components of self-regulation around eating) compared to other parent feeding styles. Children of parents with an indulgent feeding style were also higher in weight status compared to other feeding styles. Mediation analyses revealed that satiety responsiveness and enjoyment of food mediated the relationship between parent feeding style and child BMI z-score such that children of parents with indulgent feeding styles had lessened ability to self-regulate around eating and higher BMI z-scores. Findings from this study suggest that children's ability to self-regulate eating might be an important mechanism by which parent feeding style and child weight are related to each other.