Adult attachment styles and mothers' life satisfaction in relation to eating behaviors in the families with overweight and obese children

Nutritional status, feeding behavior, and oral conditions in preschool children exposed to secondhand smoke

This study evaluated whether the nutritional status of preschoolers is influenced by secondhand smoke. Pairs of mothers-children (N = 201) were allocated in "children exposed to secondhand smoke (ESHS)" or "not exposed (N_ESHS)." Mothers answered, "The Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire (PFSQ)." The nutritional status and oral conditions were evaluated using WHO criteria. ESHS was 3.5 more likely to have a high BMI and their mothers had 10 kg more than N_ESHS. The probability of having dental caries was 2.28 and 3.68 times greater when the mother's BMI increases and when family/mothers were smokers, independently whether they smoke in the child's presence.

Attachment, Feeding Practices, Family Routines and Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Childhood obesity is considered a major public health problem. To help prevention and intervention programs targeting families with obese children, this paper is aimed at synthesizing multifactorial and transactional data resulting from studies and reviews assessing relational factors between the child and his or her parents and the child's obesity risk, including the child's and CG's attachment quality, parental feeding practices, and family routines. It is also aimed at assessing the mediation of these links by specific self-regulatory capacities across different developmental periods (0-2, 2-8, and 8-18 years old). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were applied in the review methodology. Ten papers were analyzed, including seven empirical studies and three reviews proposing etiological models of childhood obesity. The quality of empirical studies was assessed, and a synthetical model of the results was proposed. This literature review showed that the caregiver's (CG) and the child's attachment quality, along with controlling or permissive feeding practices, and few family routines are mostly mediated by appetite dysregulation and emotional regulation strategies with the development of child obesity. New research topics are proposed to understand other facets of childhood obesity, as well as how to better prevent and treat it.

Reliability and Validation of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire in 3- to 6-Year-Old Spanish Children

INTRODUCTION

Eating behavior is often established during the first years of life. Therefore, it is important to make a research on it to understand the relationships that children have with food and how this can contribute to prevent the development of childhood obesity. An appropriate assessment of eating behavior can be achieved using the "Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire" (CEBQ). This questionnaire has been validated in several populations and languages, but it has never been translated, adapted, and validated for Spanish children.

AIM

To evaluate the reliability and internal consistency of the CEBQ questionnaire, culturally adapted and translated into Spanish (Spain), in Spanish families with children aged 3 to 6 years, as well as its association with children's body mass index (BMI) to test its construct validity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Children between 3 and 6 years old were recruited from the ongoing MELI-POP randomized controlled clinical trial, as well as from public schools located in middle class neighborhoods of Zaragoza, Spain, to complete the sample. Sociodemographic characteristics and anthropometric measures were obtained according to standardized methods. The 35-item CEBQ questionnaire was completed twice with a time difference of 3 weeks between each response. Statistical analyses included the evaluation of internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire, a confirmatory factor analysis, and the association between the different CEBQ scales and the children's BMI.

RESULTS

A total of 197 children completed variables; 97 of them were boys (49.2%) and 100 girls (50.8%). Mean age of the total sample was 4.7 ± 0.9 years. There was a high test-re-test reliability of the questionnaire with values close to 1, with an average of 0.66 and a good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha with values above 0.7), so that a high reliability is established between the items in each scale. A gradual positive association was found between the score of different "pro-intake" scales of the CEBQ: "Food Responsiveness," "Emotional Overeating," and "Enjoyment of food" and the children's BMI; at the opposite, negative associations were observed between BMI and the score of anti-intake scales "Satiety Responsiveness," "Slowness in Eating," and "Emotional Undereating."

CONCLUSION

The Spanish version of the CEBQ is a useful tool to assess the eating behavior of Spanish children because the high reliability and internal validity. There is a significant association between eating behavior and BMI in Spanish children.