Parental Confidence in Changing Child Obesity Behaviors

Abstract

Research Article| December 01 2014 Parental Confidence in Changing Child Obesity Behaviors AAP Grand Rounds (2014) 32 (6): 70. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.32-6-70 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Parental Confidence in Changing Child Obesity Behaviors. AAP Grand Rounds December 2014; 32 (6): 70. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.32-6-70 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: childhood obesity, obesity Source: Arsenault LN, Xu K, Taveras EM, et al. Parents’ obesity-related behavior and confidence to support behavioral change in their obese child: data from the STAR Study. Acad Pediatr. 2014; 14(5): 456– 462; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2014.03.001Google Scholar Investigators from multiple institutions conducted a study to determine how parents’ obesity-related behaviors influence their confidence in supporting their child to reach obesity behavior goals. The data for the current study were originally collected as baseline data for the Study of Technology to Accelerate Research (STAR) project, a clustered randomized controlled trial. Child participants were 6–12 years old, had a BMI ≥95% for age and gender, and received health supervision at 1 of 14 participating primary care practices in Massachusetts. At enrollment, 1 parent of each child participant completed a survey that included questions regarding demographics, obesity-related behaviors of the child and parent (physical activity [PA], screen time, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages [SSB], sleep duration, and fast food consumption), and parental confidence in supporting their child’s ability to meet obesity behavior goals. For this study, the primary predictor was the parents’ own achievement of obesity-related behavioral targets. Parents were considered to have met their obesity behavior goals if they 1) averaged ≥30 minutes of PA per day, 2) averaged <2 hours of screen time per day, 3) had no SSB servings over the last month, 4) averaged ≥8 hours of sleep per night, and 5) averaged <1 time per week of fast food. The primary outcome was parental confidence in supporting their obese child to reach each of these obesity behavior goals (dichotomized into extremely vs very/somewhat/not confident). The child’s obesity behavior goals were defined similarly to the parents’, except for PA of ≥1 hour per day and sleep of ≥10 hours per night. Data were analyzed on 787 parent/child dyads enrolled. Among parents, 26% were extremely confident in supporting their child to reach the child’s screen time goal, 25% for the fast food goal, 25% for SSB, 19% for PA, and 15% for the child’s sleep goal. Parental confidence in supporting each of the behavioral goals for their child was significantly associated with parents’ achievement of their own obesity-related behavior goals for PA, screen time, sleep, and/or fast food consumption. When adjusting for parent and child demographics, however, the only statistically significant association was between parental confidence and parent achievement of PA and sleep goals. The authors conclude that addressing parental behaviors related to obesity may be an important part of childhood obesity prevention efforts. Dr Schreiber has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. When counseling children about obesity, the tendency is often to focus on the child’s – not the parent’s – health behaviors. Yet, the parent supplies the food, makes decisions about the child participating in physical activity, and acts as a role model. Investigators have looked at family-focused interventions versus child-focused... You do not currently have access to this content.