Abstract
Background: Many parents do not live with, or have shared custody of, their adolescent children (i.e., nonresident parents). The degree of their influence on their children, as compared to parents who do live with their children the majority of the time (i.e. resident parents) has not been well-studied. The current study aimed to examine whether and how resident and nonresident parents' weight and weight-related behaviors are correlated with adolescents' weight and weight-related behaviors. Results will inform who may be important to include in adolescent obesity prevention interventions. Methods: Data from two linked population-based studies, EAT 2010 and F-EAT, were used for cross-sectional analyses. Resident parents (n = 200; 80% females; mean age =41.8), nonresident parents (n =200; 70% male; mean age =43.1), and adolescents (n =200; 60% girls; mean age =14.2 years) were socioeconomically and racially/ ethnically diverse. Multiple regression models were fit to investigate the association between resident and nonresident parents' weight and weight-related behaviors and adolescents' weight and weight-related behaviors. Results: Both resident and nonresident parents' BMI were significantly associated with adolescents' BMI percentile. Additionally, resident parents' sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake were significantly associated with adolescents' sugar-sweetened beverage intake and fruit and vegetable intake (p ≤ 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the association between nonresident parent physical activity and adolescent physical activity was marginally significant (p = 0.067). Neither resident nor nonresident parents' fast food consumption, breakfast frequency, or sedentary behaviors were significantly associated with adolescents' same behaviors. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that resident and nonresident parents may have slightly different influences on their adolescent children's weight-related behaviors. Longitudinal follow-up is needed to determine temporality of associations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 131 |
| Journal | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research is supported by grant number R03 HD074677 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (CO-PI’s: Berge and MacLehose), R01 HL093247 (PI: Neumark-Sztainer) and R01 HL084064 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (PI: Neumark-Sztainer). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.
Funding Information:
Research is supported by grant number R03 HD074677 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (CO-PI's: Berge and MacLehose), R01 HL093247 (PI: Neumark-Sztainer) and R01 HL084064 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (PI: Neumark-Sztainer). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Berge et al.
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Dietary intake
- Nonresident parent
- Obesity
- Physical activity
- Resident parent
