An Exploratory Study on the Intergenerational Transmission of Obesity and Dieting Proneness

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Eat Weight Disord
• Personal Author:
  Claydon, Elizabeth A. ; Zullig, Keith J. ; Lilly, Christa L. ; Zerwas, Stephanie C. ; Davidov, Danielle M. ; Cottrell, Lesley ; White, Marney A.
• Description:
  PURPOSE
  
  There is a paucity of research exploring individuals’ memories of parental dieting behavior, engagement in “fat talk”, or criticism of weight or eating behavior in childhood. This exploratory study utilized a community sample to further characterize the retrospective report of parenting dieting behavior.
  
  METHODS
  
  A total of 507 participants (78.1% female; 20.7% male; and 1.2% transgender) were recruited to participate in an online, self-administered survey.
  
  RESULTS
  
  Forty percent (216) of participants reported maternal dieting in their family of origin and 34% (182) reported maternal fat talk; 24% (120) reported paternal dieting and 11% recalled paternal ‘fat talk’ (58). Subgroup analyses suggest that both male and female participants had greater odds of remembering maternal rather than paternal weight or shape criticism and encouragement to diet (OR = 58.1; and OR=3.12; p<.0001 for male and female participants respectively). Retrospective report of indirect parental behaviors (e.g. parental dieting) also appear to be associated with direct parental behaviors (e.g. encouraging children to diet). Additionally, participants who recalled maternal encouragement to diet reported a significantly higher adult BMI (ß = 1.31, SE = 0.32, p<.0001).
  
  CONCLUSION
  
  Results provide preliminary evidence that a sizeable percentage of both adult male and female participants recalled that their parents engaged in fat talk and dieting. In addition, participants recalled parental criticism of their own weight or eating behaviors, which were associated with recall of parental dieting and fat talk.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Article Body Image Body Mass Index Body Weight Diet Dieting Behaviors Family Fat Talk Fat Talk Feeding Behavior Female Health Behavior Humans Intergenerational Transmission Male Obesity Parent-Child Relations Retrospective Studies Self Concept Surveys And Questionnaires Young Adult

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• Source:
  Eat Weight Disord. 24(1):97-105
• Pubmed ID:
  29340906
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6047933
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R49CE002109/ACL/ACL HHS/United States ; 1R49CE002109/CC/CDC HHS/United States ; R49 CE002109/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; K01 MH100435/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; U48 DP005004/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:904d90f6c8164f454debc5050c04dc741f00db9788e46b8b615366da2b696451
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/57176/cdc_57176_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 262.89 KB ]