Associations of general parenting and parent-child relationship with pediatric obesity: a meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Child Health
• Developmental Psychology
• Obesity Research

Background:

• General parenting and parent-child relationships influence child weight status, eating behaviors, and physical activity levels.
• Existing research presents varied findings on the specific associations between parenting styles and child health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize evidence on the relationship between general parenting, parent-child relations, and child weight, eating, and physical activity.
• To evaluate the impact of parental demandingness, responsiveness, and relationship quality on child health behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of electronic databases identified 156 empirical studies.
• Random-effects meta-analysis was employed to integrate findings from the selected studies.

Main Results:

• A positive parent-child relationship and higher parental responsiveness were associated with lower child weight, healthier eating, and increased physical activity.
• Parental demandingness, overprotection, psychological control, and inconsistency showed some associations with outcome variables.
• Effect sizes were generally small and demonstrated variability based on study characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The small observed effects suggest that general parenting styles and the parent-child relationship quality may not be primary targets for obesity prevention and treatment.
• Reducing parental inconsistency shows potential as a more effective intervention target, pending replication in future research.