Abstract
Besides other explanatory variables, parenting styles and parental violence might also be responsible for setting a path towards overweight/obesity in childhood. While this association has consistently been observed for adults, findings for adolescents still remain scarce and inconsistent. Therefore, the goal of this study is to add evidence on this topic for children and adolescents. Analyses are based on a sample of 1729 German, ninth-grade students. To analyze associations between parenting dimensions and weight status, non-parametric conditional inference trees were applied. Three gender-specific pathways for a heightened risk of overweight/obesity were observed: (1) female adolescents who report having experienced severe parental physical abuse and medium/high parental warmth in childhood; (2) male adolescents who report having experienced low or medium parental monitoring in childhood; and (3) this second pathway for male adolescents is more pronounced if the families receive welfare. The importance of promoting parenting styles characterized by warmth and a lack of physical abuse is also discussed. This is one of only a few studies examining the association of parenting dimensions/parental physical abuse and weight status in adolescence. Future studies should include even more parenting dimensions, as well as parental physical abuse levels, in order to detect and untangle gender-specific effects on weight status.
Highlights
The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (Kinderund Jugendgesundheitssurvey, KiGGS) reported that 17.1% of German adolescents can be classified as overweight or obese
Only recently, the focus has shifted from food-related parenting behavior to more general parenting dimensions that focus on the quality of the parent-child relationship [4]
The association of parental physical abuse and obesity has consistently been observed in studies including adults
Summary
The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (Kinderund Jugendgesundheitssurvey, KiGGS) reported that 17.1% of German adolescents (aged 14–17) can be classified as overweight or obese. A prevalence of 8.5% is reported [1]. Besides other explanatory variables, such as genetic factors, nutrition, physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, and impaired sleep patterns [2], parental behavior is thought to be responsible for setting a path towards overweight and obese children [3]. Only recently, the focus has shifted from food-related parenting behavior (e.g., portion control, healthy food choice, monitoring of dietary behavior, encouraging/discouraging eating and exercise, etc.) to more general parenting dimensions that focus on the quality of the parent-child relationship [4]. Whereas obesity interventions in childhood have successfully targeted parents [5], as children grow older, parenting behaviors are less strongly associated with outcomes. The likelihood of Children 2017, 4, 17; doi:10.3390/children4030017 www.mdpi.com/journal/children
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