| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 939428 | Appetite | 2014 | 9 Pages |
•Chinese American parents’ predominant feeding style is indulgent.•Indulgent parents have the most obese children; authoritarian parents the least.•Restriction is not related to child weight; pressure to eat is negatively related.•The authoritative style, not much practiced, is also linked to low obesity.•Indulgent styles promote overweight; authoritative styles encourage healthy weights.
Parents influence their child's eating behavior and attitudes directly as food providers and indirectly through their parental feeding styles and feeding concerns and practices. Chinese American parents’ practices are likely influenced by culture. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between parental perceptions, feeding practices, feeding styles, level of parental acculturation (LPA), and child weight status via a self-administered questionnaire. This survey study involved a convenience sample of 712 individuals who were parents of 5- to 10-year old children attending Chinese language after-school programs. The prevalence of overweight was 11.5% and obesity was 11.1%. LPA was not directly predictive of child overweight in multiple regression but from categorical data, Chinese American parents tended to use indulgent (33.2%) and authoritarian (27.9%) feeding styles, with the former increasing with acculturation and the latter decreasing. Indulgent parents had more than expected overweight and obese children, and authoritarian and authoritative parents, fewer. LPA was negatively predictive of pressure to eat healthy foods (p < .01), which was negatively correlated with child weight status (p < .01). LPA was also independently positively correlated to responsiveness to child needs (p < .01), monitoring of child intake (p < .01), and perceived responsibility for child feeding. Parental perceptions and concerns about child weight were predictors of child weight. Consequently, parental concerns and responsiveness to child needs without also encouragement (demandingness) to eat healthy foods (indulgent feeding style) may promote overweight. The authoritative parental feeding style may contribute to children having healthy weights and therefore healthy lives.
Graphic AbstractFigure. The Relationships* Among Parental Feeding Perceptions, Feeding Practices, Feeding Styles dimensions, LPA and Child BMIFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
