Parenting practices, children's media use and childhood obesity

Abstract

The impact of children’s individual lifestyle behaviours on obesity is well known. As the family is the primary social force shaping children’s lives, many of the risk factors for overweight and obesity in early childhood are likely to have roots within the family context. Based on their attitudes and beliefs, parents set and enforce rules and create a home environment that necessarily influences their children’s participation in sedentary behaviours like television viewing or computer use, exercise and eating behaviours. Data from the first three waves of the K cohort (LSAC) data was used to investigate whether proximal and distal parental practices at Wave 1 and 2 (child aged 4/5 & 6/7) were associated with children’s media use, and whether these lifestyle behaviours at Wave 2 (child aged 6/7) were associated with child weight status at Wave 3 (child aged 8/9). Results from the path model revealed that consistent parenting (Wave 1) was associated with other parenting practices and some of the children’s media use and lifestyle behaviours at Wave 2. Further the model revealed that although children’s television watching was associated with more snacking and less moderate to vigorous activity, only time spent in television viewing was significantly associated with child weight status at age 8/9 years. The analyses revealed a clear pathway linking consistent parenting with parental practices regarding television viewing, with the time children spent watching television and child weight status.