Modeling Parental Influence on Teenagers’ Food Consumption: An Analysis Using the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Survey

• Published in: Journal of nutrition education and behavior 2018-11, Vol.50 (10), p.1005-1014
• Main Authors: Ma, Zexin, Hample, Dale
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: diet; FLASHE; obesity; parents; teenagers
• ISSN: 1499-4046; 1878-2620
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.07.005

To investigate (1) how perceived parental control, perceived parental modeling, and parent–teen co–decision making are associated with teenagers’ consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as sugary drinks and less healthful food; and (2) whether self-efficacy mediates this relationship. Cross-sectional survey. A total of 1,657 adolescents aged 12–17years. Perceived parental control, perceived parental modeling, parent–teen co–decision making, self-efficacy, and consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as sugary drinks and less healthful food. Ordinary least-squares regressions and mediation analyses. After controlling for teenagers’ self-efficacy, perceived parental control was not significantly associated with teenagers’ fruit and vegetable consumption but it was negatively related to teenagers’ consumption of sugary drinks and less nutrient-dense food. Perceived parental modeling had a positive correlation to teenagers’ fruit and vegetable consumption and a negative relationship to their consumption of sugary drinks and less healthful food. Parent–teen co–decision making regarding teenagers’ food consumption emerged as a positive predictor for teenagers’ fruit and vegetable consumption but not for that of sugary drinks and foods with little nutritional value after controlling for self-efficacy. Findings from this study demonstrated that perceived parental behaviors were related to teenagers’ nutrition intakes. Not exerting too much control and having teenagers participate in the decision-making process could help teenagers eat more healthily. Furthermore, providing a positive role model for teenagers can be an effective strategy to encourage teenagers to eat better.