Maternal Eating Styles and Restrictive Feeding Practices: Indirect Effects Through Perceived Child Appetite and
Carla Ugarte Pérez1, Claudia Cruzat Mandich1, Camila Oda-Montecinos1,2
1Centro de Estudios de la Conducta Alimentaria, Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Avenida Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolén 7941169, Santiago, Chile.
Nutrients
|December 31, 2025
Summary
Maternal eating styles influence perceptions of child appetite, leading to weight concerns and restrictive feeding practices. This study reveals a pathway linking maternal eating habits to child feeding behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Nutrition
- Parenting Studies
Background:
- Parental influence is key in shaping children's eating behaviors.
- Previous research links parental attitudes to feeding practices.
- Limited studies explore how mothers' eating styles affect their perceptions of children's eating and subsequent feeding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if mothers' eating styles predict restrictive feeding practices.
- To examine the indirect pathway: maternal eating styles -> child appetite perception -> weight concern -> restrictive feeding.
- This is the first study to explore this specific sequential mediation model.
Main Methods:
- 488 mothers of children aged 2-7 years completed self-report questionnaires.
- Measures included the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ), and Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ).
- Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyzed the hypothesized mediation model.
Main Results:
- Maternal eating styles positively correlated with perceived child appetite (β = 0.44).
- Perceived appetite predicted maternal weight concern (β = 0.39) and restrictive feeding (β = 0.28).
- Maternal weight concern strongly predicted restrictive feeding (β = 0.65), with a significant indirect effect from maternal eating styles (β = 0.23).
Conclusions:
- Maternal eating styles can bias appetite perceptions, indirectly increasing restrictive feeding via weight concerns.
- Highlights the role of cognitive and perceptual factors in the maternal-child feeding dynamic.
- Suggests potential intervention targets focusing on mothers' perceptions and eating styles, while acknowledging study limitations (cross-sectional, self-report, convenience sample).
Keywords:
child eating behaviormaternal eating stylesobesity riskparental feeding practicespreschool childrenrestrictive feedingMore Related Videos
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