Child disinhibition, parent restriction, and child body mass index in low-income preschool families

Abstract

Objective: To examine both unique and interactive effects of parent restrictive feeding and child disinhibited eating behavior on child body mass index (BMI) in low-income Latino and African American preschoolers.

Methods: The sample included 229 parent-child pairs, the majority of whom were low-income and Latino (57%) or African American (25%). Parents completed self-report measures, and researchers collected anthropometric data.

Results: Multiple regression analysis indicated a restriction-disinhibition interaction; high restriction/high disinhibition predicted higher BMI, and high restriction/low disinhibition predicted lower BMI.

Conclusions and implications: Although limited by the observational, cross-sectional design, results indicate that parent and child behaviors interact to produce maladaptive weight outcomes, and practitioners should consider both when counseling families.