Parenting and childhood obesity research: a quantitative content analysis of published research 2009-2015

A quantitative content analysis of research on parenting and childhood obesity was conducted to describe the recent literature and to identify gaps to address in future research.

Studies were identified from multiple databases and screened according to an a priori defined protocol. Eligible studies included non-intervention studies, published in English (January 2009-December 2015) that focused on parenting and childhood obesity and included parent participants.

Studies eligible for inclusion (N = 667) focused on diet (57%), physical activity (23%) and sedentary behaviours (12%). The vast majority of studies used quantitative methods (80%) and a cross-sectional design (86%). Few studies focused exclusively on fathers (1%) or included non-residential (1%), non-biological (4%), indigenous (1%), immigrant (7%), ethnic/racial minority (15%) or low-socioeconomic status (19%) parents.

While results illustrate that parenting in the context of childhood obesity is a robust, global and multidisciplinary area of inquiry, it is also evident that the vast majority of studies are conducted among Caucasian, female, biological caregivers living in westernized countries. Expansion of study foci and design is recommended to capture a wider range of caregiver types and obesity-related parenting constructs, improve the validity and generalizability of findings and inform the development of culture-specific childhood obesity prevention interventions and policies. © 2016 World Obesity.