Intergenerational Transmission of Feeding Practices and Styles: Adult-Controlled or Cooperative Feeding in Parent-Child Relationships Across Generations

Introduction: Parental feeding styles and practices impact children’s long and short-term health outcomes. These include nutritional intake, weight, eating behaviors (including disordered eating), and medical complications. Three primary feeding styles have been identified in the literature: 1) adult-controlled, 2) permissive, and 3) cooperative. The cooperative style has been found to be associated with the most positive outcomes. A better understanding of these approaches and their associated outcomes is needed to establish preventive familial interventions to decrease the prevalence of disordered eating and obesity as critical steps to improve health outcomes.

Methods: A convenience sample (n=62) of parents from a childcare center in Northern Idaho completed the “Eating Then and Now” measure (Branen and Fletcher, 1999). Participants were predominately female (82.5%) and Caucasian (89.3%). The intergenerational transmission of feeding styles and practices, as well as body mass index (BMI) were examined. Chi-square analysis was used to examine associations between the categorical variables identified in participants’ perceived childhood feeding environment and participants’ current child feeding styles and practices. T-tests were utilized to examine whether there was a difference in BMI in relation to feeding styles.

Results: Analysis revealed significant relationships between several caregiver feeding practices recalled from childhood and feeding practices used with their children: children required to clean their plates X²(25, n=57) p < 0.05, adults using food as an incentive to get children to do things X²(20, n=57) p = 0.0, caregiver talk with children about nutrition X²(20, n=57) p < 0.01, children eating dessert at mealtime X²(25, n=57) p = 0.0, and children eating regularly scheduled meals X²(16, n=57) p = 0.0. The feeding style used by participants with their own children was associated with the feeding style used by participants’ primary caregiver when they were children, X²(9, n=62), p < 0.05. Adults who identified their caregiver’s feeding style as adult controlled had significantly higher BMI (M= 27.9, SD=6.47) than did those who identified their caregiver’s feeding style as cooperative (M=23.2, SD=6.92).

Conclusions: Prevention efforts for decreasing the prevalence of obesity-related adverse health outcomes (i.e., diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers) should consider early childhood home feeding environment, particularly parental feeding styles and practices as a potential target.

Reference:

Branen, L., & Fletcher, J. (1999). Comparison of college students’ current eating habits and recollections of their childhood food practices. Journal of Nutrition Education, 31(6), 304-310.