Differences Among Parents Whose Concerns About Child Overweight Are Realistic or Not

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among parental concern about child overweight, general parenting style, and specific feeding practices. Participants in the study were 129 children aged three, four, and five years enrolled in one of four rural or micropolitan Oklahoma Head Start Centers. Parents of the participants completed a demographic questionnaire and other questionnaires examining parenting practices. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and triceps skin fold, were measured in fall and again in spring. Mismatch between actual child weight and parental concern existed. Although 63.6% of parents with children who are considered overweight according to CDC standards were concerned, only 34.8% of parents of children at risk for overweight were concerned. Parents who were concerned about their child's weight were significantly more likely to be active-restrictive in parenting style and were more likely to discourage their children from eating foods (p<.05), provide negative consequences for eating (p<.05), and plan meals and read labels (p<.05). As BMI increased above the 70th percentile, increasing weight was related to increasing parental use of discouraging practices p<.05) and attempts to control junk food (p<.05). Results are interpreted as both showing increasing parental concern with increasing child weight and a mismatch between concern and at-risk-for-overweight status among preschool children. Parenting style and feeding practices are related to parental concern about children being overweight.