Parenting Practices and Adolescents' Eating Behaviors in African American Families.

Lillie Monroe-Lord,Azam Ardakani,Jinan Banna,Laura Hopkins,Carolyn Gunther,Rickelle Richards,Alex Anderson,Miriam Ballejos,Karina R Lora,Siew Sun Wong,Glade L Topham,Marla Reicks,Blake L Jones

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010110

Abstract

Parents play an important role in developing the eating behaviors of their children by adopting specific parenting practices. As the prevalence of obesity is high amongst African American adolescents, investigations into associations of specific parenting practices and adolescents’ eating behaviors are essential. In this exploratory study, 14 African American parent–adolescent dyads were interviewed to characterize the influence of eight different parenting practices on the consumption of three main food categories (dairy, fruits and vegetables, and unhealthy snacks). The results revealed that authoritarian parenting practices were correlated with a higher BMI percentile in adolescents, whereas modeling and monitoring are correlated with a higher parent BMI. In addition, reasoning, monitoring, modeling, and authoritative parenting practices were associated with less unhealthy snack consumption among adolescents. Reasoning and monitoring were the only parenting practices associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption. Finally, a significant correlation was found between eating fruits and vegetables and unhealthy snacks and the location of eating. In conclusion, different parenting practices and environmental factors may impact BMI and food consumption of African American dyads. The results of this study can be used to guide improvement in, and/or development of, nutritional education interventions considering the cultural differences of racial minorities.

Highlights

Childhood obesity is an increasingly common health condition
We evaluated the relationship between different parenting practices and the eating behaviors and obesity of African American adolescents
The findings of this study showed that authoritative parenting practices were associated with lower consumption of unhealthy snacks, which is in agreement with previous findings, showing an increase in healthy habits among adolescents

Summary

Introduction

Childhood obesity is an increasingly common health condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of obesity amongst youth (12–19 years) in the United States is approximately 21% based on an estimated BodyMass Index-for-age (BMI-for-age) at or above the 95th percentile [1]. Childhood obesity is an increasingly common health condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of obesity amongst youth (12–19 years) in the United States is approximately 21% based on an estimated Body. The National Center for Health Statistics estimated that 24% of African American youth have obesity [1]. It was estimated that 80% of overweight and obese adolescents will continue this condition into adulthood [2,3]. Obese adolescents are at higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood [4,5]. Unsuitable dietary habits, lack of physical activity, and genetic predisposition are the leading causes of the increased obesity rate [6,7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion