Effects of a shared activities parenting intervention on weight outcomes in middle childhood: An exploratory study.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2025
Identifier
DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102002
Abstract
General parenting interventions without an explicit focus on weight-related constructs have demonstrated lasting effects on child weight outcomes. However, well-established parenting interventions are time and resource intensive, which has limited their ability to transition to real-world delivery. This exploratory study examined whether Play With Me, a pilot at-home play-based general parenting intervention, affected weight outcomes in middle childhood. The intervention provided evidence-based parenting guidance that parents implemented in shared activities with their four-to-five-year-old children. Two years following the intervention, a follow-up survey was sent to families who had participated (N = 31), and parents (n = 27) reported child height and weight when children were 6.9 ± 0.6 years old. Children in the intervention group had a lower body mass index (BMI) in middle childhood, adjusting for baseline BMI, age, and sex (d = 0.52). Results were similar when examining BMI z-scores, percentiles, and overweight status, with children in the intervention group being less likely to meet clinical criteria for overweight at middle childhood follow-up than children in the control group (9.10 % intervention, 37.50 % control, V = 0.32). These exploratory findings add to the evidence supporting causal links between general parenting and child weight, extend this evidence to an interactive at-home intervention delivery model, and indicate that future rigorous, well-powered trials are needed to test whether results replicate and elucidate mechanisms through which general parenting may promote healthy child growth trajectories.
Journal Title
Eating behaviors
Volume
58
First Page
102002
Last Page
102002
MeSH Keywords
Humans; Female; Male; Parenting; Child, Preschool; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Child; Pediatric Obesity; Parents; Parent-Child Relations; Follow-Up Studies; Overweight; Pilot Projects
PubMed ID
40466459
Keywords
General parenting intervention; Middle childhood; Obesity prevention; Parenting; Parents; Pediatric obesity; Weight status
Recommended Citation
Kubiniec E, White HI, Eiden RD, et al. Effects of a shared activities parenting intervention on weight outcomes in middle childhood: An exploratory study. Eat Behav. 2025;58:102002. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102002
COinS
Comments
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