Parenting behaviors and their relationship with a child's weight status

Pediatric obesity is a critical healthcare problem that has continued to increase in prevalence. It has been well established that pediatric obesity is a multifactorial problem with no easy solution. Complicating matters has been the fact that there has been a disproportionate increase across ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Parents have been found to play a critical role supporting a child's behavior through environment, role modeling and ongoing parenting practices.;This study utilized a cross sectional correlational study design to determine what the relationship is, if any, between a child's weight status and parenting behaviors. In addition the study examined if the relationship was influenced by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, child's activity level, child's nutritional behaviors, and the parent's body mass index. Parenting behaviors were assessed both by the child and by the parent to identify if the two perspectives were congruent with one another.