Theses and Dissertations Collection

Childhood obesity is a health concern in the United States (US); obesity among children of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Working (MSFW) families exceeds that of other US Latino children. Childhood obesity is impacted by several factors; however, a crucial factor is parenting influences. Child nutrition intake and child-feeding styles have been associated with children’s weight status. As a result, knowledge about family’s dietary quality is needed to understand the parental role in the origins and prevention of child obesity in MSFW families. A secondary qualitative study was conducted to investigate the MSFW families’ perspectives on their feeding styles, nutrition intake, and their children’s Body Mass Index (BMI). This study attempted to characterize the association of feeding styles to dietary intake and measure overweight and obesity status in MSFW children.

A convenience sample was used from the existing data (N=384) from the Community Council of Idaho, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Programs in Idaho. The data were obtained from families and children, ages 3-5 years of age attending MSHS centers. The method of data collection that is used for this project included anthropometric measurements to conduct children’s height and weight and the nutrition history questionnaire answered by families. The results were analyzed using SPSS software by coding the responses to the nutrition history questionnaire numerically. The results indicated that most of the families in this study reported similar child-feeding styles and perspectives on child nutrition intake across different child weight status ranging from underweight to obese.

A similar pattern was found in parental reported child-feeding styles and parents’ perspective on child nutrition intake to children’s BMI. This study adds to the literature because it was one of few studies using the parental self-report method to gain understanding on MSFW child feeding styles and children’s food intake. Understanding how feeding styles influence children’s eating behaviors can benefit prevention programs, specifically those that aim to prevent childhood obesity and to help parents understand effective feeding styles.