THE ROLE OF THE OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT AND PARENTAL LIFESTYLES IN INFANT FEEDING BEHAVIOR

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the role of the obesogenic environment and parental lifestyles in infant feeding behavior. Data sources: The searches were performed in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, Lilacs and Scielo databases, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The descriptors used were found in the Medical Subject Headings and in the Descriptors in Health Sciences being these: Comportamento alimentar/Feeding Behavior/ Conducta Alimentaria; Crianças/Child/ Niño; Relações familiares/Family Relations/Relaciones Familiares; e Ecologia/ Ecology/ Ecología. These were combined by the Boolean operator AND. Data synthesis: Researchers consider that parents (orprimary caregivers) are responsible, in part, for the unhealthy eating behavior presented by children, and for them to change it is necessary to change the behavior of the family, ensuring the correct choice of food and the practice of physical activity. The family environment has a significant impact on the development of eating behavior, so adults should provide a good model of this behavior for children. Conclusions: It was verified through this review that, in order to maintain and develop a healthy eating behavior, it is necessary to reach different spheres of life of the individual - physical, social, psychological, family, cultural and mediatic environment.