Children Who Are Pressured to Eat at Home Consume Fewer High-Fat Foods in Laboratory Test Meals

• Published in: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2012-02, Vol.112 (2), p.271-275
• Main Authors: Lee, Heewon, PhD, RD, Keller, Kathleen L., PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beverages; Body Mass Index; Child; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Energy Intake; Ethnicity; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Food Preferences; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Parenting - psychology; Social Environment; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vegetables
• ISSN: 2212-2672
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2011.10.021

Abstract Parents use greater pressure to eat with children who weigh less, but the impact of this practice is unclear. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the association between parental reports of eating pressure and children's actual intake across four identical ad libitum meals. Sixty-eight ethnically diverse, 4- to 6-year-old children from New York, NY, participated in this study from 2005 to 2007. Eating pressure was measured by the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Height and weight were measured and converted to body mass index z scores. Meals consisted of macaroni and cheese, string beans, carrots, grapes, graham crackers, cheese sticks, milk, pudding, and a sugar-sweetened beverage. Multiple regressions were performed to determine the extent to which pressure to eat predicted food intake after adjusting for BMI z score and child weight concern. Pressure to eat was negatively associated with child BMI z score ( r =−0.37; P