Connections between Children’s Eating Habits, Mental Health, and Parental Stress
Table 2
Frequencies and percentages of anthropometric data lifestyle, food attitude, and parental relations of the children (n = 125) and frequencies and percentages of lifestyle (sports, diet and overweight) and feeding style of parents (n = 161). Children’s body mass index (BMI) categories are also reported.
Children’s lifestyle
“Do you play sports?”
Yes
98 (78%)
No
27 (22%)
“Do you like eating?”
Yes
72 (58%)
No
53 (42%)
“Do you feel fatter than other children?”
Yes
22 (18%)
No
103 (82%)
Children-parents relation
“Does your mother show that she is satisfied with you?”
Never
5 (4%)
Occasionally
34 (27%)
Often
86 (69%)
“Does your mother play with you?
Never
41 (33%)
Occasionally
63 (50%)
Often
20 (16%)
Missing
1 (1%)
“Does your father show that he is satisfied with you?”
Never
6 (5%)
Occasionally
34 (27%)
Often
85 (68%)
“Does your father play with you?
Never
32 (26%)
Occasionally
61 (49%)
Often
32 (26%)
BMI categories
Underweight (<18)
6 (5%)
Normal (18–25)
86 (69%)
Overweight (25–30)
17 (13%)
Obese (>30)
16 (13%)
Parents’ lifestyle
All
Mothers
Fathers
“Do you play sports?”
Never
57 (35%)
35 (38%)
22 (32%)
Occasionally
79 (49%)
43 (47%)
36 (52%)
Often
25 (16%)
14 (15%)
11 (16%)
“Do you eat too much?”
Yes
40 (25%)
15 (16%)
25 (36%)
No
121 (75%)
77 (84%)
44 (64%)
“Do you follow a diet?”
Yes
84 (52%)
54 (59%)
30 (43%)
No
77 (4%)
38 (41%)
39 (57%)
“Are you overweight?”
No
73 (45%)
46 (50%)
27 (39%)
Moderately
77 (48%)
42 (46%)
35 (51%)
Strongly
11 (7%)
4 (4%)
7 (10%)
Parents’ feeding style
“Do you try to get your child to finish lunch when s/he is not eating?”
