Does your past define you? How weight histories are associated with child eating-disorder psychopathology

To examine how parents' and adolescents' weight histories were associated with parents' approach to eating/weight-related parenting and children's eating-disorder behaviors.

Participants were 502 parents (69.3% mothers, 30.7% fathers) of children 12-16 years old who completed an online survey. Parents reported their own and their child's weight status during childhood and adolescence. Parents' and children's weight histories were categorized as "weight loss," "weight stability," or "weight gain" and were examined in relation to feeding practices and eating-disorder psychopathology.

Parents with a history of weight gain had greater personal eating-disorder psychopathology and more concerns about their child's weight than parents with weight stability or loss. They also reported greater parental overvaluation (judgment of themselves as parents according to their child's weight/shape). Children with a history of weight loss or gain were more likely to have eating-disorder behaviors than those with stable weight. Analyses revealed that results largely persisted after adjusting for child BMI-z.

Both parent and child weight gain between childhood and adolescence were associated with eating-disorder psychopathology, eating/weight-related parenting, and feeding practices. Pediatricians and clinicians should assess weight history when considering risk for eating disorders and obesity.

Level III, Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-controlled analytic studies.