Parental correlates of food parenting practices: socioeconomic status,weight, and dieting status

Little research has considered how parents’ socioeconomic indicators, body mass index (BMI), and dieting status relate to their food parenting. The current study used self-report data from parents of young children to examine group differences on three types of food parenting practices (Structure, Coercive Control, and Autonomy Promotion). Few group differences were found for socioeconomic indicators. However, parent dieting status moderated effects of parent BMI on structure and autonomy promotion. Obese, non-dieting parents reported lower scores on both variables. More research is needed to better understand how parents’ dieting status moderates the effects of parent’s weight.