Confident body, confident child: Evaluation of a universal parenting resource promoting healthy body image and eating patterns in early childhood-6- and 12-month outcomes from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate Confident Body, Confident Child (CBCC), a universal parenting resource designed to promote positive body image and healthy eating patterns in children aged 2-6 years, at 6- and 12-months follow-up.

Method: A four-arm randomized controlled trial with 345 parents was conducted. Group (A) received the CBCC resource pack + workshop, (B) received the CBCC resource pack only, (C) received a nutrition booklet and (D) received no interventions until all questionnaires were completed (i.e., waitlist control). Measures of parenting variables relevant to child body image and eating patterns, and parent-report of child weight, were administered at baseline, 6-weeks post-intervention (results reported previously), and 6- and 12-months follow-up.

Results: Mixed effects modeling comparing group averages over time revealed that significant group differences on measures of knowledge, parenting intentions and the parental feeding practice of weight restriction were still present at 12-months follow-up, though the remaining measures showed no significant differences between groups over time. The two CBCC groups reported more positive and less negative outcomes than the nutrition booklet active control.

Discussion: The CBCC program achieved sustained improvements in some parenting variables at 12-months, suggesting its value as an effective parenting intervention. Changes to the intervention design, such as the addition of a follow-up parent workshop, however, would likely increase its efficacy.

Keywords: body image; disordered eating; parents; prevention.