Feeding style differences in food parenting practices associated with fruit and vegetable intake in children from low-income families.

OBJECTIVE To examine the moderating effects of feeding styles on the relationship between food parenting practices and fruit and vegetable (F & V) intake in low-income families with preschool-aged children. DESIGN Focus group meetings with Head Start parents were conducted by using the nominal group technique. Parents completed information on food parenting practices and feeding styles. Three dietary recalls were collected on each child. SETTING Parents completed measures in Head Start centers and/or over the telephone. PARTICIPANTS 667 parents of preschool-aged children participated. OUTCOMES Food parenting practices and F & V intake. ANALYSIS Mean differences in the food parenting practices across the 4 feeding styles were established through multivariate general linear modeling using MANOVA. Moderated multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the moderating role of feeding style on food parenting practices and child F & V intake. RESULTS The indulgent feeding style moderated the relationship between food parenting practices and child F & V intake. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS This study indicates that parents' feeding styles have a moderating effect on the relationship between the food parenting practices and children's F & V intake. This finding can facilitate the development of interventions aimed at reducing childhood overweight.