(P20-058-24) Food Parenting Practices Mediate Relationships Between Parent Sex and Adolescent Food Intake During Independent Eating Occasions

Monday, July 1, 2024

11:45 AM – 12:45 PM CT

Location: Poster Board 551

Presenting Author(s)

KL

Karina R. Lora, PhD RD

Associate Professor
George Washington University
Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States

Co-Author(s)

MR

Marla Reicks, PhD, RDN, LN

Professor & Extension Specialist
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
GS

Grace Shearrer

University of Wyoming, United States
SW

Siew Sun Wong

Oregon State University, United States
Laura C. Hopkins, PhD, RND, LD (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
Baldwin Wallace University
Berea, Ohio, United States
AA

Alex K. Anderson, Dr.

Associate Professor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, United States
Jinan Banna, PhD, RD

Associate Professor
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Carolyn Gunther, PhD, RDN (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor and Director
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
BJ

Blake Johns

Brigham Young University, United States
LM

Lillie Monroe-Lord, PhD, RD, LD

Director
University of the District of Columbia
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
RR

Rickelle Richards

Brigham Young University, United States
GT

Glade Topham

Kansas State University, United States

Disclosure(s):

Karina R. Lora, PhD RD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Laura C. Hopkins, PhD, RND, LD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Lillie Monroe-Lord, PhD, RD, LD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: To determine whether associations between parent sex and adolescents’ dietary intake during independent eating occasions (iEOs) (junk foods, sugary foods, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and fruits/vegetables) are mediated by food parenting practices.

Methods: A cross-sectional study measuring food parenting practices and adolescent iEO food group intake via an online survey (Nov-Dec 2021). The associations between parental sex, adolescent iEOs, and the potential mediation effect of food parenting practices were examined using classical mediation. Significance values and confidence intervals were derived using a bootstrap method (5000 iterations). Significance was considered p ≤ 0.05.

Results: A racially and ethnically diverse sample of parent/adolescent dyads (n = 622, 211 males, 411 female parents) was recruited from a national Qualtrics panel database reporting household income as ≤ 185% of federal poverty income guidelines.The food parenting practice “monitoring” mediated the association between parental sex and SSB intake (indirect effect: beta = -0.04, CI = -0.08:-0.02, p < 0.05) and parental sex and fruit and vegetable intake (indirect effect: beta = -0.06, CI = -0.1:-0.03, p < 0.05). The food parenting practice “indulgence” mediated the association between parental sex and SSB intake (indirect effect: beta = -0.05, CI = -0.08:-0.03, p< 0.05) and between parental sex and fruit and vegetable intake (indirect effect: beta = -0.06, CI = -0.09:-0.03, p< 0.05).

Conclusions: Parental monitoring and indulgence were related to increased intakes of both SSB and fruits and vegetables. Male parents reported higher monitoring and indulgent food parenting behaviors. Parental monitoring and indulgence appear to promote intake of fruits and vegetables; however, they may not be a good strategy to decrease SSB intake. Our results indicated that combinations of food parenting practices probably are needed to both promote healthy foods and decrease intake of SSB. Associations between parent sex and adolescent iEO SSB and fruit and vegetable intake were mediated by monitoring and indulgent food parenting practices.

Funding Sources: None