Mothers' feeding profiles among overweight, normal weight and underweight Chinese preschoolers

Abstract

We adopted a person-centered approach to identify maternal feeding profiles among urban Chinese mothers of preschoolers, including two previously unexamined culturally-emphasized practices, and examine the associations between these feeding profiles and child and parent characteristics. Participants included 167 mothers and their preschoolers residing in Shanghai, China. Mothers reported on their feeding beliefs and practices, perceptions of child's body shapes, child dietary intake, and family demographic information. The hierarchical clustering method revealed 3 feeding clusters: uninvolved feeding (35.3%), concerned and restrictive feeding (21.6%), and high-pressure feeding (43.1%). Child BMI, weight status, maternal length of staying in Shanghai, maternal perceptions of child actual body shape and ideal body shape, and child unhealthy dietary intake were significantly different across the three clusters. The person-centered approach allowed for the examination of various feeding beliefs and practices simultaneously and revealed patterns of maternal feeding in Chinese families with preschoolers. Our oversampling of underweight and overweight groups of children in the present study allowed for the derivation of feeding profiles across children in all weight status groups. Moreover, the examination of whether demographic, maternal body shape perceptions, and child dietary intake differed across the clusters of mothers provided a more complete picture of family context and processes that may underlie and contribute to mothers' feeding practices, and ultimately their children's weight.

Keywords: Chinese preschoolers; Maternal feeding; Person-centered approach.