Journal Club 7: A Qualitative Exploration Into the Parent-Child Feeding Relationship

About the Webinar

This presentation will describe the the process of conducting a qualitative research study and highlight results from a study that explored the extent to which parents divide responsibilities of feeding (what, when, where, how much, and whether) with their children and the factors that influence parents' approach to feeding. Overall, we found that parent's approaches to feeding varied widely. A few parents followed the Division of Responsibility approach closely. Instead, many parents gave their child more than the recommended amount of influence over what foods were served and offered children less than the recommended amount of autonomy over the whether and how much of eating. Meals and snacks were approached differently; parents exhibited less control over the timing of snacks as well as the types and amounts of foods eaten during snacks, compared with the control exhibited during meals.

Related JNEB article. 

About the Presenter

Katie A. Loth, PhD, MPH, RD, University of Minnesota
Katie Loth, PhD, MPH, RD is an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Her research explores social and environmental influences on child and adolescent weight status and disordered eating behaviors. Specifically, she is interested in identifying ways that parents can work to help their children develop and maintain a healthy weight and a healthy relationship with their bodies. Loth is also a dietitian and sees patients in an outpatient clinic and help train family medicine residents.