A mixed methods analysis of maternal response to children's consumption of a palatable food - differences by child weight status_2019.pdf

SummaryBackground: Little is known about how mothers respond to their child eatingpalatable foods.Objectives: The objectives of the study are to examine maternal behaviourswhen children are presented with a large portion of energy-dense palatable foodin an experimental setting and to examine differences by child weight status.Methods: Mother–child dyads (N = 37) (mean child age 70.8 months) participatedin a videotaped eating protocol with cupcakes. Anthropometrics were measured.Videos were analysed using discourse analysis and were reliably coded forthe presence or absence of the most salient theme. Analysis of variance examinedtheme presence by child and mother weight status.Results: Mothers disavowed responsibility for their child’s eating. Motherswere observed to roll their eyes at the child, throw their hands up in exasperationand distance themselves both physically and emotionally when the child ate thecupcakes voraciously or with high enjoyment. Mothers of children with obesity (vsrecommended weight) engaged in more counts of disavowal (p = 0.01).Conclusions: Mothers of children with obesity distanced themselves fromtheir child, seeming to disavow responsibility for the child’s eating of ‘junk food’.Mothers may respond to their child’s seemingly gluttonous eating by disavowing responsibilitydue to the stigma of being a parent of a child with obesity.