Factors influencing maternal control in child feeding in Hungary

BACKGROUND: Globally, more than 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016. Obesity in children and poor dietary habits in adulthood are associated with parental feeding practices. This study aimed to characterize the sociodemographic status, lifestyle, and health related factors of mothers associated with child feeding control practices. METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Hungary among 8-13-year-old students and their parents (N = 454). In this analysis only mothers of normal/overweight/obese children were analysed (n = 338). Questions included mothers’ characteristics and their practices in child feeding measured by the Hungarian version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire. It has two main categories: “risk factors and concerns” and “control in child feeding”; we analysed the last one with its three domains (restriction, pressure to eat and monitoring). Factors influencing mothers’ feeding control were analysed by multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: According to our classification 86.9% of mothers were “monitoring”, 20.0% “pressure to eat”, and 26.9% “restrictive”. Neither of the variables was explored in the regression model of “restrictive” mothers. Mothers of overweight children (79%) and of obese children (89%) were less likely to be “pressure to eat” mothers (p = 0.007, p = 0.036). Women with high education were 2.19 times more likely to be “monitoring” mothers (p = 0.047) than lower educated. Mothers who had hopeless feelings were 94% less likely to be “monitoring” (p = 0.016). Overweight children's mothers were 4.12 times likely to be “monitoring” mothers (p = 0.040) than mothers of normal weighted children. CONCLUSIONS: In our analysis predicting factors of child feeding were educational level and mental health of mothers and nutritional status of children. Improved education, self-efficacy and mental status are important public health issues from the point of the promotion of healthy nutrition. KEY MESSAGES: • Parents, especially mothers can significantly influence children’s eating experiences, so the evaluation of mothers’ feeding control may be used in the formulation of obesity prevention in children. • The mothers’ feeding strategy and their ideas about child feeding are determined by many factors which can be modified by the promotion of their education and health way of life.