Parental feeding practices and children's disordered eating among single parents and co-parents
Rebecca C Kamody1, Janet A Lydecker1
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Insights
Single parents exhibit heightened concerns about child weight and eating, employing more restrictive feeding practices. Their children are more prone to secretive eating behaviors, impacting long-term health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Parenting Studies
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Parental feeding practices significantly influence pediatric disordered eating and weight status.
- Existing research predominantly focuses on maternal feeding in co-parenting families, neglecting single parents and fathers.
- Single-parent households and paternal feeding dynamics remain understudied areas in child nutrition research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between parental feeding practices and child disordered eating behaviors and weight status.
- To compare feeding practices and their associations in single-mother and single-father households versus matched co-parenting households.
- To identify potential differences in parenting practices related to unhealthy eating and weight between single and co-parenting families.
Main Methods:
- A survey was administered to 524 parents of children aged 5–16 years.
- Participants completed online questionnaires assessing parental feeding practices and unhealthy eating/weight-related parenting strategies.
- Co-parenting participants were meticulously matched to single parents based on demographics like gender, race, ethnicity, education, age, and Body Mass Index (BMI).
Main Results:
- Single parents reported greater concerns regarding their child's weight, eating, and body shape compared to co-parents.
- Single parents engaged in more restrictive feeding practices and perceived a higher level of responsibility for their child's eating habits.
- Children raised by single parents were significantly more likely to exhibit secretive eating behaviors.
Conclusions:
- The feeding practices of single parents are linked to child weight and disordered eating, aligning with broader research.
- Distinct differences emerged in unhealthy eating/weight-related parenting practices between single and co-parenting mothers and fathers.
- These practice variations may shape children's long-term eating behaviors and weight trajectories, underscoring the need for further research in single-parent contexts.
Objective:
Some parental feeding practices are associated with pediatric disordered eating and weight status. Existing research, however, has focused on maternal feeding practices in co-parent households. Single parents and fathers are notably understudied in this area. The current study examined associations of parental feeding practices with child disordered eating behaviors and weight, and compared associations between single mothers and fathers with a matched sample of co-parenting mothers and fathers.
Method:
Parents (N = 524) of youth between 5 and 16 years completed an online survey that included measures of parental feeding practices and unhealthy eating/weight-related parenting practices. Co-parents were matched to each single parent based on gender, race, ethnicity, education level, age, and BMI.
Results:
Single parents reported significantly greater concern about their child's weight, eating and shape, and reported engaging in more restraint and restriction of their child's eating, as well as having more perceived responsibility of their child's eating than caregivers in co-parent households. Children of single parents were significantly more likely to engage in secretive eating.
Discussion:
Associations between single parents' feeding practices and child weight and disordered eating parallel the broader literature. There were differences between single mothers and fathers and co-parenting mothers and fathers, particularly in their report of their unhealthy eating/weight-related parenting practices. Such differences may influence children's longer-term eating behaviors and weight status. Further research on single-parent households is needed, including longitudinal and epidemiological studies.
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