Parenting practices and overweight status of junior high school students in China: A nationally representative study of 19,487 students from 112 schools

Publication date: Available online 14 September 2017 Source:Preventive Medicine Author(s): Zhengqi Tan, Jungwon Min, Hong Xue, Weidong Wang, Youfa Wang The study aimed to examine the level of parental responsiveness and demandingness for junior high students in China and its association with child weight status; assess if it differs by student socio-demographic characteristics; and to test the association between parenting and child physical activity. Nationally representative survey data collected from 19,487 students in 112 middle schools across China in 2013–2014 academic year were analyzed in 2016. Children's anthropometrics and perceptions of parenting practices were accessed by self-administered questionnaire. Multilevel logistic regression models were fit to test the association controlling for child age, sex, school region, and parental education. The majority of adolescents reported their parents were highly responsive in terms of emotional support and involvement (high: 64.1% vs. low: 9.2%), although more parents were not perceived as highly demanding (high: 21.4% vs. low: 35.5%). Children were more likely to be overweight or obese if their parents were highly responsive (OR=1.4 [95%CI: 1.2,1.6]) and demanding (OR=1.1 [95%CI: 1.0,1.3]) compared to those with medium parenting scores. Older children, boys, children with highly educated parents, or in urban schools had greater odds of being overweight or obese by receiving highly responsive parenting compared ...
Source: Preventive Medicine - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research