Abstract

VIANA, Victor; FRANCO, Tânia  and  MORAIS, Cecília. Children's weight status and eating behaviour: Influence of mother's weight and feeding attitudes. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2011, vol.12, n.2, pp.267-279. ISSN 1645-0086.

The weight status of mothers and their children is related, calling for the involvement of hereditary factors and environmental factors, such as: food habits, the attitudes towards food and the child feeding control strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between weight status of mothers, the attitudes to control child feeding, and eating behavior and weight status of children. Participants included 204 mothers and their children aged between 6 and 13 years. The mothers provided data regarding their weight and height in order to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI), answered the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). The children were weighed and measured; the BMI was calculated and then transformed into Z-Score. Results show that for both sexes, the weight status of children was associated with the BMI of the mothers, mother’s attitudes to control child feeding, and dimensions of the children’s eating behavior. The conclusions have implications for counseling and intervention in children and youth at risk for obesity and obese, and their mothers.

Keywords : Feeding attitudes; eating behaviour; weight status; obesity; children and youth.

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