Parental feeding practices in relation to low diet quality and obesity among LSES children

Objective: To examine the relationships between parental feeding practices, diet quality, overweight, and obesity among low-socioeconomic status (LSES) preschoolers. Research Methods and Procedures: A cohort of preschool children (aged 5–6) and their mothers was recruited from November 2009 to December 2009. To overcome seasonal and personal variation in dietary intake, 3 replications of the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and a parental Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) were obtained in person at baseline, 3months from baseline, and 6months from baseline. Anthropometric measurements were attained at preschool class on the same dates. Scores of the 12 factors of the CFPQ were calculated and related to dietary intake. Correlation coefficients between the mean energy and fat intake and CFPQ factors’ scores were calculated. One-way analysis of variance with post hoc analyses was used to compare nutrient intake and anthropometric measures across CFPQ tertiles. Results: Preschoolers (n = 63), aged 64.4 ± 5.0 months (47% boys), were recruited. Unhealthy feeding practices including food as a reward for good behavior and food restriction for promoting health were associated with increased consumption of junk food, sweets, and snacks. Among healthy feeding practices, encouraging balance and food variety and healthy eating modeled by parents were associated with increased vegetable consumption and smaller waist circumference. Weight was negatively associated with factors that reflect parental pressure and food restriction for weight control. Conclusions: Our data showed that certain feeding practices relate to a higher diet quality and lower weight and waist circumference. These practices may be encouraged in order to improve diet quality and prevent overweight and obesity.