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Does maternal obesity have an influence on feeding behavior of obese children?
1Clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology, Goztepe Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey - nurcancebeci@yahoo.com.
Insights
Maternal obesity strongly correlates with childhood obesity, increasing parental concern and food restriction. However, maternal obesity itself does not significantly alter feeding practices in obese school children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Public Health
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a complex condition with multifactorial origins.
- Maternal obesity and parenting styles are recognized as significant contributing factors.
- Understanding the maternal influence on feeding practices is crucial for intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of maternal obesity on the feeding behaviors of obese school-aged children.
- To assess the relationship between maternal Body Mass Index (BMI) and children's BMI-z-scores.
- To examine specific maternal feeding practices, including perceived responsibility, restriction, concern for child's weight, and monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Consecutive enrollment of obese children and adolescents referred to a pediatric endocrinology department.
- Measurement of height and weight for both children and their mothers.
- Utilized an adapted Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) to assess maternal feeding practices.
- Comparison of feeding practice scores between obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and non-obese mothers.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was observed between children's BMI and their mothers' BMI (P<0.001).
- A high prevalence of obesity was noted among mothers (64.4%), with only half perceiving themselves as obese.
- Child's BMI-z-score correlated positively with maternal concern for child's weight and food restriction, independent of maternal obesity status.
Conclusions:
- Maternal BMI is a strong predictor of children's BMI-z-scores.
- Increased child obesity severity correlates with heightened maternal concern and food restriction.
- Despite a high prevalence of obesity among mothers of obese children, maternal obesity did not significantly influence the feeding behaviors of these children.
Aim:
Although the pathogenesis of childhood obesity is multi factorial, maternal obesity and parenting have major roles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of maternal obesity on feeding practices toward their obese school children.
Methods:
Obese children and adolescents referred to the pediatric endocrinology department were enrolled consecutively. Height and weight of all children and their mothers were measured. Maternal feeding practices were measured using an adapted version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ). Answers were compared between obese (Body Mass Index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m2) and non-obese mothers.
Results:
A total of 491 obese subjects (292 girls, mean age 12.0 ± 2.8 years) and their mothers participated in this study. A direct correlation between children's BMI and their mothers' BMI was found (P<0.001) both in girls (r = 0.372) and boys (r = 0.337). While 64.4% of mothers were found obese in the study, only half of them consider themselves as obese. No difference were found in the scores of the subscales "perceived responsibility", "restriction", "concern for child's weight" and "monitoring" between obese and non-obese mothers. Child's BMI-SDS positively correlated with mothers' personal weight perception, concern for child's weight and restriction after adjustment for child's age (P < 0.001, P = 0.012 and P = 0.002, respectively).
Conclusion:
Mothers' BMI highly correlate with children's BMI-z-scores. The degree of child's obesity increases mothers' concern and food restriction behavior. While mothers of obese children have a high prevalence of obesity, maternal obesity was found to have no significant influence on feeding behavior of obese school children.
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