Maternal Feeding Practices, Health Cognitions, and Children's Eating Styles and Weight Status

Differences in parental behaviour, emotions, and cognitions between children's eating profiles

A variety of parent psychological characteristics (e.g., wellbeing) have been related to children's eating behaviour. However, parent-child feeding interactions are reciprocal and complex, including relationships between parental cognitions, emotions, as well as the influence of children's varying appetitive traits. Using a person-centred approach, children's appetitive traits can be clustered into meaningful eating profiles. To date, no research has examined whether parental behaviours, emotions, and cognitions differ depending on a child's eating profile. Hence, this study recruited parents/primary caregivers from the APPETItE project, whose child had previously been identified as having an avoidant, typical, happy, or avid eating profile. Parents/primary caregivers of children (3-6 years; N = 632) completed online questionnaires examining broader parenting behaviour (parenting styles), parental emotions (stress, wellbeing), and parental cognitions (goals, self-efficacy, time and energy for meal planning and preparation, and perceptions about children's body size). Findings showed significant differences in parent responses to the questionnaires based on children's eating profiles. Parents of children with a happy eating profile reported better psychological wellbeing and greater parenting time and energy for meal planning and preparation, as well as being less likely to report goals of avoiding mealtime stress and conflict. In contrast, parents of children with an avoidant eating profile reported poorer psychological wellbeing. Children with an avid eating profile were perceived by parents as having a higher body weight, whereas children with an avoidant eating profile were perceived as having a lower body weight. Overall, these findings demonstrate that differences in parental characteristics and perceptions exist between children's eating profiles and thus should be considered in the development of tailored interventions to support children's healthy eating.

Mothers' perceptions of self-efficacy and satisfaction with parenting are related to their use of controlling and positive food parenting practices

Perceptions of parenting competence are composed of self‐efficacy and satisfaction with parenting. Parenting competence is linked to differential outcomes across numerous parenting domains. To date, few studies have explored the relationships between maternal self‐efficacy and food parenting practices, deploying different measures and age ranges, and yielding conflicting findings. Therefore, the current study sought to explore relationships between the two dimensions of perceived parenting competence and the use of controlling and positive food parenting practices. UK mothers (N = 269) of 18‐ to 59‐month‐old children completed measures of both dimensions of perceived parenting competence (i.e., parenting self‐efficacy and satisfaction) and of controlling (maladaptive) and positive (health promoting) food parenting practices. Relationships were found between perceptions of competence and use of food parenting practices. Self‐efficacy and satisfaction with parenting were positively associated with the use of most positive food parenting practices. Greater parenting satisfaction, but not parenting efficacy, was associated with lower use of some of the potentially detrimental controlling food parenting practices. Neither parenting self‐efficacy nor satisfaction with parenting were related to mothers' reported use of pressure to eat. In conclusion, supporting and promoting greater maternal self‐efficacy and satisfaction with parenting may be a useful target for public health interventions and for professionals working with families with the aim of promoting optimal parenting to support children's development of healthy eating habits. Future research should seek to further elucidate the current findings with a longitudinal design.

Maternal Perception of the Child’s Weight, Lifestyle Problems and Self-Efficacy to Deal with Them

Objectives: To associate the maternal perception of the child’s weight (MPCW) and the child’s nutritional status. To describe child’s lifestyle behavior problems (CLBPs) and maternal self-efficacy (SE) to deal with them, as well as to verify differences according to children with and without overweight-obesity (OW-OB) and MPCW. Material and methods: There was participation of 274 dyads (mother-preschool child). MPCW was assessed through words and images. The mothers answered the Lifestyle Behaviour Checklist. The child’s weight and height were measured. Results: 18.8 % (n = 13) of the mothers of children with OW-OB and 78.8 % (n = 160) of the mothers of children without OW-OB obtained adequate MPCW values through words (X2 = 77.759; DoF = 1; p < .001). It was identified that the mothers of children with OW-OB reported more CLBPs and less SE. When the child’s OW-OB is perceived through words, there are more CLBPs (F = 17.041; p = .001) and less SE (U = 1,118; p = .015). Conclusions: Inadequate MPCW was predominant in mothers of children with OW-OB. When OW-OB is perceived, there are more CLBPs and fewer SE. It is recommended to promote adequate MPCW, particularly in mothers of children with OW-OB. Images assist in the identification of the child’s OW-OB more than to classify it into a category.

Maternal self-efficacy is associated with mother-child feeding practices in middle childhood

OBJECTIVE

Maternal self-efficacy (MSE) is a well-established correlate of health outcomes in young children, though little is known about this association in older children. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine how MSE relates to mother-child feeding practices in middle childhood.

METHODS

A total of 306 children ages 8-12 (Mean age = 9.72, SD = 0.91, 52.9% female) and their mothers participated in this study. Mothers completed the New General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Child Feeding Questionnaire. A series of hierarchical regression models were used to examine how MSE related to maternal food restriction, maternal pressure to eat, and maternal food monitoring.

RESULTS

After accounting for maternal Body Mass Index (BMI), education, and age, and child Body Mass Index Percentile (BMI%ile) and age within the first step of each regression model, MSE emerged as a significant predictor for maternal restriction of foods (p = .024) and maternal food monitoring (p = .048). MSE was not significantly related to maternal pressure to eat.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to establish that higher MSE is significantly related to healthier mother-child feeding practices in middle childhood, providing preliminary justification for enhancing MSE within comprehensive family interventions to support child weight-related health.

Do stressed children have a lot on their plates? A cross-sectional study of long-term stress and diet among Finnish preschoolers

We examined the association between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) - an indicator of long-term stress - and diet among preschoolers in a cross-sectional design. The participants were 597 Finnish 3-6-year-olds, and the data were collected in 2015-16. We used 4-cm hair samples to analyze HCC during the past four months. Food consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and we used consumption frequencies of selected food groups as well as data-driven dietary pattern scores in the analyses. The parents of the participating children reported their educational level and family income. The researchers measured the children's weight and height. We examined the associations between HCC and diet using multilevel linear mixed models adjusted for age, gender, the highest education in the family, household relative income, and child BMI. Higher HCCs were associated with less frequent consumption of fruit and berries (B estimate -1.17, 95% CI -2.29, -0.05) and lower scores in a health-conscious dietary pattern (B estimate -0.38, 95% CI -0.61, -0,14). Higher HCCs were also associated with more frequent consumption of sugary beverages (B estimate 1.30, 95% CI 0.06, 2.54) in a model adjusted for age, gender and highest education in the family, but the association attenuated after further adjustments. Our results are parallel with previous studies that show a link between stress and unhealthy diet. In the future, longitudinal studies are needed to establish a causal relationship between stress and diet among children.

Exploring Determinants of Parent Behaviors During Eating Episodes

OBJECTIVE

To develop a conceptual model of determinants of parent feeding behaviors with preschoolers.

DESIGN

Semistructured in-depth interviews were collected and transcribed verbatim.

SETTING

University of Houston.

PARTICIPANTS

Parents of preschool-aged children (aged 2-5 years).

PHENOMENON OF INTEREST

Determinants of parent behaviors during eating episodes with preschoolers.

ANALYSIS

Trained coders conducted thematic analysis with constant comparison of all interviews.

RESULTS

The final sample (n = 20) included predominantly white (60%), married (70%) mothers (75%) from middle socioeconomic conditions (100% had at least some college education; 70% had a household income >$50,000). Five categories of themes emerged: child behaviors, proactive parent behaviors, reactive parent behaviors, contextual factors, and parent beliefs. The themes were organized into a conceptual model to describe how parents and children influenced each other's behaviors depending on the context and parent beliefs of themselves and their child.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

A conceptual model outlining several determinants of parent feeding behaviors among preschoolers was developed. Next steps in the research are to validate the conceptual model identified in this qualitative study on a large, nationally representative sample.