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. 2018 Jun 7;18(1):704.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5593-4.

Relationships between parent feeding behaviors and parent and child characteristics in Brazilian preschoolers: a cross-sectional study

Sarah Warkentin  1 , Laís Amaral Mais  2 , Maria do Rosário Dias de Oliveira Latorre  3 , Susan Carnell  4 , José Augusto de Aguiar CarrazedoTaddei  2
Affiliations

Relationships between parent feeding behaviors and parent and child characteristics in Brazilian preschoolers: a cross-sectional study

Sarah Warkentin et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Eating habits formed in early childhood are influenced by parental feeding behaviors, warranting investigation of predictors and correlates of parent feeding. We aimed to describe relationships between parental feeding practices and parent and child characteristics in a sample of Brazilian preschoolers.

Methods: Four hundred and two parents of preschoolers enrolled in private schools of São Paulo and Campinas, Brazil, completed a Brazilian version of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire, as well as questions about parental attitudes, child food intake, other obesity-associated behaviors, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. We ran bivariate logistic regression models examining associations between independent variables and each feeding practice. Next, we ran multiple logistic regression models predicting each parental feeding practice.

Results: Greater 'Restriction for Weight Control' and 'Restriction for Health' were associated with lower maternal education (OR = 2.42 (CI 95% 1.07-5.48) and 2.79 (CI 95% 1.25-6.22), respectively), and with higher concern about child overweight (OR = 2.46, CI 95% 1.64-3.69 for 'Restriction for Weight Control', only), while greater 'Pressure' was associated with greater concern about child underweight (OR = 2.30, CI 95% 1.53-3.47) and lower maternal BMI (OR = 0.94, CI 95% 0.88-1.00). Greater use of 'Emotion Regulation/ Food as Reward' was associated with lower maternal education (OR = 2.22, CI 95% 1.05-4.71). In analyses of positive feeding practices, lesser use of 'Healthy Eating Guidance' and 'Monitoring' was associated with greater intake of less healthy foods in children (OR = 1.53 (CI 95% 1.01-2.32) and OR = 1.94 (CI 95% 1.27-2.97), respectively), and greater use of screen devices (OR = 1.59 (CI 95% 1.04-2.44) and OR = 1.57 (CI 95% 1.03-2.39), respectively). Lesser use of 'Healthy Eating Guidance' was additionally associated with higher maternal BMI (OR = 1.09, CI 95% 1.03-1.16), and lesser use of 'Monitoring' with lesser perceived parent responsibility for child feeding (OR = 1.68, CI 95% 1.12-2.52).

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate diverse socioeconomic, anthropometric and behavioral correlates of parent feeding in a large Brazilian sample of parents of preschoolers.

Keywords: Children; Diet; Eating behavior; Feeding practices; Parenting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This research received ethical approval from the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP) ethics committee under the protocol number 20221013.9.0000.5505. The mother or the father of the child provided written informed consent for participation prior to data collection.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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