Exploring Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: A Systematic Review of Parental Influence in the Home Food Environment

Background

Childhood and adolescent obesity are a significant public health concern in the United States and globally. There are gaps in understanding the role of the home food environment (HFE) and parental influence in shaping children's eating habits and weight outcomes.

Objective

Examine the broader perspective of the HFE and its association with parenting food practices and obesity outcomes among children and adolescents.

Study Design, Settings, Participants

Using a systematic review approach, three databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Academic Search Premier) were searched using combinations of keywords, such as “parents”, “parents feeding practice”, “parental influences”, or “parental influence on food” combined with “home food environment”, “childhood obesity”, or “adolescent obesity.” Intervention or observational study designs were included if parents implement changes at home and the HFE measures were reported by the parent, adolescent, or a researcher. The included papers are peer-reviewed, full-text articles, published in English. The PRISMA checklist guided this review.

Measurable Outcome/Analysis

We examined parent influence within the physical (food availability) and social (parent-child interactions) domains of HFE on children's weight outcomes. For study quality assessment, three tools from the National Institute of Health were used depending on the design.

Results

Thirty-three relevant studies were identified, with five rated as good quality, twelve as fair, and sixteen as poor. The most studied influential factors were parental restriction, pressure to eat, and availability of food types in the home. The social domains of HFE such as eating meals together as a family, having the TV or other media off during mealtimes, and pressure to eat were all negatively associated with childhood obesity in most studies. Most studies found no association between parental influence in the physical HFE and childhood/adolescent obesity.

Conclusions

Targeted interventions in combating childhood obesity, focusing on the parental influence in the HFE are needed. Future research should explore bidirectional associations, multiple caregivers, and potential confounding variables to better understand the relationship between parental influence, HFE, and obesity.

Funding

None