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Parenting and Feeding Styles and Parents' Body Mass Index as Predictors of Body Mass Index and Disordered Eating

Iraís Castillo Rangel1, Said Jiménez2, Claudia Unikel Santoncini3

  • 1Área de Ciencias de la Salud, Unidad Académica de Enfermería, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Carretera Zacatecas Guadalajara km 6, Colonia La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico.

Nutrients
|September 13, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Authoritarian parenting and parental depression are linked to children's disordered eating behaviors and higher body mass index (BMI). Understanding these connections can improve childhood obesity interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Nutritional Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a significant global health issue with multifaceted origins.
  • Eating and weight problems in children have complex, contributing factors.
  • Disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) and weight concerns require comprehensive understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the associations between parenting styles, eating styles, and parental body mass index (BMI).
  • To examine the relationship between these factors and children's BMI and DEBs.
  • To explore the role of parental mental health in childhood weight and eating issues.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study design.
  • Involved 372 mother-child or father-child dyads.
  • Utilized path analysis to examine relationships between variables.

Main Results:

  • Authoritarian parenting positively correlated with food approach and avoidance behaviors.
  • Parental depression showed positive associations with food approach and avoidance.
  • Food approach behaviors predicted compensatory eating, and binge eating/compensatory behaviors related to children's BMI.

Conclusions:

  • Parenting styles and parental mental health significantly influence children's eating behaviors and BMI.
  • Identifying these links is crucial for developing targeted interventions for childhood obesity.
  • Further research can inform strategies to address nutrition- and weight-related challenges in children.

Keywords:
BMIdisordered eating behaviorsfeeding stylesparenting styles

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