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Parental Feeding Practices in the United States and in France: Relationships with Child's Characteristics and Parent's Eating Behavior

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2009.03.008Get rights and content

Abstract

Given the role of parental feeding practices in establishing children's eating habits, understanding sources of individual differences in feeding practices is important. This study examined the role of several psychological variables (ie, parental perceived responsibility for child's eating, parental perceptions of the child's weight, and parents' own eating patterns) in individual differences in a variety of feeding practices. Parents of preschool-aged children completed surveys in a cross-sectional study. Two cultural contexts (ie, United States, n=97 parents; and France, n=122 parents) were included to assess the cross-cultural generalizability of the findings. Monitoring was associated with parental perceived responsibility for child's eating, parental restrained eating, and parents' desire for their child to be thinner, especially in France. Restriction for weight reasons was more prevalent in France and was associated with parents' perceived responsibility for child's eating, perception of child's body weight, and parental restrained eating. Parental use of foods for nonnutritive purposes was more prevalent in the United States and was associated with parental uncontrolled or emotional eating. Finally, parents' perceived responsibility for child's eating was strongly related to child control over feeding, teaching about nutrition, encouragement of balance, and variety and modeling. These associations between psychological variables and parental feeding practices shed light on the sources of individual differences in feeding practices and suggest possible opportunities for intervention when feeding practices are suboptimal.

Section snippets

Study Design

Families participated in a cross-sectional study on children's eating behavior, which took place in the United States and in France to explore transcultural differences. The US sample was recruited (May 2004 to August 2004) from preschools in a mid-sized Midwestern city and surrounding towns. The French sample was recruited (October 2005 to January 2006) from schools in a large city and a small town in the Ile-de-France and Picardy regions, respectively. French preschools were chosen to have

Participant Characteristics

Familial income was roughly comparable between the samples (Table 1): the median yearly income was $75,000 to $90,000 in the United States and 60,000€ to 70,000€ in France. However, French parents reported a higher education level. In the US sample, 97% of the parents were white and, in the French sample, 89% of the parents were born in France and 78% reported that both of their parents had been born in France as well. The French children were slightly older than the American children, but

Conclusion

In sum, the current findings emphasize the association between parents' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and how they feed their children. Given the potential medical and psychological risks associated with unhealthful eating habits and overweight in children, research that identifies the factors associated with specific feeding practices can help practitioners better understand and prevent negative outcomes.

B. de Lauzon-Guillain is a research fellow, Institut national de la santé et de la recherché médicale (INSERM), Institut fédératif de recherche 69 (IFR69), U780, Villejuif, France.

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B. de Lauzon-Guillain is a research fellow, Institut national de la santé et de la recherché médicale (INSERM), Institut fédératif de recherche 69 (IFR69), U780, Villejuif, France.

M. A. Charles is director of research, Institut national de la santé et de la recherché médicale (INSERM), Institut fédératif de recherche 69 (IFR69), U780, Villejuif, France.

D. Musher-Eizenman is an associate professor, Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.

E. Leporc is a scientist at Direction départementale des affaires sanitaires et sociales (DDASS) de Seine et Marne, Melun, France; at the time of the study, she was a student at INSERM, IFR69, U780, Villejuif, France.

S. Holub is an assistant professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Texas, Dallas; at the time of the study, she was a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.

Drs de Lauzon-Guillain and Musher-Eizenman contributed equally to this work.

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