Associations between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and disordered eating behaviors: Findings from a population-based study

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the types of food-related parenting practices utilized by a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population of parent-adolescent pairs and to assess the relationship between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and disordered eating behaviors. Data for this dissertation were drawn from two coordinated, population-based studies. EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) was a population-based study of 2,793 [14.4 years old (SD= 2.0)] adolescents from 20 urban public schools in Minnesota designed to examine dietary intake, weight status and associated factors.;Associations with demographic characteristics: The mean level of overall parental food restriction was 2.51 [(scale range: 1 (low control) to 4 (high control)] indicating that, on average, parents within the sample reported engaging in a moderate level of overall food restriction with their adolescent children. Level of restrictive feeding was found to differ significantly by both race/ethnicity and household income, after adjustment for other sociodemographic characteristics, with parents in racial/ethnic minority subgroups and parents with a low household income utilizing the highest levels of food restriction. No significant differences were seen in parent self-report of restrictive feeding practices by parent gender, education level or employment status.;Associations with adolescent weight status: Mean food restriction levels were significantly higher among parents of overweight and obese adolescents as compared to non-overweight adolescents. On the other hand, levels of pressure-to-eat were significantly higher among parents of non-overweight adolescents. Fathers were more likely than mothers to engage in pressure-to-eat behaviors and boys were more likely than girls to be on the receiving end of parental pressure-to-eat. Parental report of restriction did not differ significantly by parent or adolescent gender. No significant interactions by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status were seen in the relationship between restriction or pressure-to-eat and adolescent weight status. This finding suggests that while the extent to which parents adopt a controlling approach to child feeding is known to differ across families, specifically with regard to race/ethnicity or SES, the associations between food-related parenting practices and child weight status in the current population did not differ based on the race/ethnicity or SES of the parent.;Associations with adolescent disordered eating behaviors: Adolescent boys exposed to higher levels of pressure-to-eat or food restriction were significantly more likely to report engaging in dieting and disordered eating behaviors compared to boys exposed to lower levels of pressure-to-eat or food restriction. For example, for every one unit increase in food restriction reported by mothers, boys were two times more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors. Examination of the association between food-related parenting practices and dieting and disordered eating behaviors among girls yielded primarily null findings. However, analyses did reveal that for every one unit increase in food restriction reported by mothers, girls were at 1.34 times more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors. No significant interactions by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status were seen in the relationship between food restriction and pressure-to-eat and adolescent disordered eating behaviors.;Conclusions: This dissertation added depth to a growing body of scientific literature by being the first research study to explore the specific types of food-related parenting practices utilized by parents of adolescents, as well as the first study to explore associations between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and endorsement of disordered eating behaviors. Findings indicate that use of controlling food-related parenting practices, such as pressuring children to eat and restricting children's intake, is common among parents of adolescents, particularly among parents in racial/ethnic minority subgroups, parents with less than a high school education, and parents with a low household income. Further, findings suggest that use of controlling practices is associated with higher weight status among adolescent girls and boys and greater risk of disordered eating behaviors among adolescent boys. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).