Parenting stress, maternal feeding styles related to preschooler body mass index

Introduction: excess weight in childhood is influenced by multiple factors; parenting could contribute to this problem, given that during the infant stage the parents, and mainly the mother, are responsible for providing food and feeding their children.

Objective: to explore the relationship of parenting stress and maternal feeding styles with preschool BMI. Materials and

Methods: a cross-sectional study. A total of 382 dyads, mother and child (3-5 years of age) participated. The children attended public preschool institutions. Participating mothers completed the Parenting Stress Scale and the Caregiver Feeding Styles Questionnaire. Weight and height were measured, and the child's BMI was calculated.

Results: 34 % of the mothers more frequently used an indulgent style, 28.2 % of the preschool children had overweight-obese. Mothers with an authoritative style had the highest mean range of parenting stress compared to other categories (H = 15.302, gl = 3, p = 0.002). Maternal schooling, responsibility and demand dimensions were identified as contributing to preschooler BMI.

Conclusion: parenting stress and feeding styles are variables that contribute to the risk of overweight-obesity in prescho.