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Description
Overweight or obesity in childhood poses the largest risk to children in the United States (U.S.), and disproportionately affects Mexican-American and Latino youth. In both the general and U.S. Latino population, feeding styles, parental control of nutrition and prompting to eat have been associated with obesity and eating styles of their children. The purpose of this study was to examine mediation effects of parenting strategies on child body mass index (BMI). Two hundred and ninety-seven Latino parent-child dyads were recruited from a federally qualified health center (FQHC) serving low to medium income families in the U.S.- Mexico border community of San Ysidro, California. Participants were randomized to receive the intervention, or be in the usual care control group. Both the intervention and usual care groups were included in this analysis. The intervention targeted nutrition and physical activity in the home through parental involvement and child behavior change. The intervention was tailored to the needs of each family and delivered via clinic based health educators and mid-level providers. Data were collected at three timepoints: baseline, six months later, and twelve months post-baseline. BMI and sociodemographic data were measured in children and their parents. Parenting strategy data were collected using the validated Parenting Strategies for Eating and Activity Scale (PEAS). The primary outcome of interest is the mediation effect of parenting strategies between the intervention and child BMI. Multivariate regression analyses were used to test the mediation effects on child BMI. There was a significant mediation effect of the control subscale on the relationship between the intervention and child BMI (p = .00). The intervention group had a lower average score on the control subscale than the usual care group. A greater score on the control subscale resulted in lower child BMI. There were no mediation effects of the monitoring, limit setting, discipline or reinforcement subscales between the intervention and child BMI. Evidence from this analysis provides greater understanding of the interaction between parenting strategies and child BMI as well as guidance for clinic-based interventions in low to medium income Latino communities.
