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Description:
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Childhood obesity is an issue of great concern to health professionals in the United States . Past research has emphasized the role parenting styles (e .g . , the global parenting environment ) and parents ? practices (e .g . , specific parent behaviors ) play in shaping childhood weight status . This study is the first to examine the associations of parenting style , feeding practices and children ?s self -regulation of food intake in a South Asian population . Self -report data was collected from a community sample of South Asian parents with children between the ages of 3 to 9 years old (N = 54 ) . Participants were 75 % mothers and 25 % fathers . Feeding practices were compared between South Asian mothers and data from a control group that was collected from an ongoing study . Survey items measured parenting style dimensions of warmth , psychological control , and behavioral control . Parents ? controlling feeding practices of pressure , restriction for health and restriction for weight were also assessed . Self -regulation was measured by parent ?s report of child ?s external eating and food responsiveness , as well as satiety responsiveness . Results of this study revealed South Asian mothers used more pressure in feeding than Caucasian mothers , but did not use more restriction . Acculturation was not associated with parenting style dimensions or feeding practices , but was associated with external eating . The parenting style dimension of psychological control was positively correlated with restriction for health and pressure . Psychological control and restriction for health were associated with external eating , while these variables and restriction for weight were associated with food responsiveness . Regression analyses suggest that restriction for health was the best predictor for both of these variables . Restriction for weight was related to satiety responsiveness , but this variable was not significant after controlling for child weight status . The results of this study are consistent with previous research on feeding practices and self -regulation . Parenting interventions targeting child obesity should consider teaching parents to employ less controlling feeding practices , as these methods were associated with lower self -regulation ability in children . |