How Parenting and Family Characteristics Predict the Use of Feeding Practices among Parents of Preschoolers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Beijing, China.

Parental coercive and structured feeding practices are linked with children's weight gain. Thus, identifying their predictors will assist in childhood obesity prevention. We explored how parents' concerns and perceptions of children's weight, parenting stress, parenting competence, parents' family roles, and only child status (of both parent and child) predict the use of restriction, pressure to eat, and monitoring practices among parents of preschoolers. Parent-child dyads (n = 2990) were recruited in Beijing in 2019. Parenting competence, parents' weight perceptions and feeding practices were assessed using the Chinese version of Parenting Sense of Competence Scale and Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ), respectively. Parenting stress and other variables were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Multivariate linear associations between parents' weight perceptions and feeding practices were significant among normal-weight children. Parents' concerns about children being overweight were positively associated with restriction and monitoring, and negatively associated with pressure to eat. Higher levels of parenting stress and parenting competence significantly improved the adoption of restriction and pressure to eat. Parents' only child status and that of children had an impact on parents' feeding practices. The fathers' feeding preferences were substantially different from what mothers preferred. In conclusion, such parenting and family characteristics significantly influenced feeding practices of preschoolers' parents. These were long neglected in China.

Impact of Obesogenic Environments on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Preschoolers: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Beijing.

The excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been proven to be critical for obesity among preschoolers. This study aimed to describe the SSB consumption rates among preschoolers in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, China, and to explore the association between obesogenic environmental determinants and consumption. We applied a stratified cluster sampling method and recruited 3057 primary caregivers of preschoolers in June 2019 to participate in the survey. The caregivers reported their children's consumption rates of six categories of SSBs and their exposure rates to SSB-related obesogenic environments. The associations between them were tested using multivariate logistic regression models. The mean (SD) age of the children was 5.6 (0.6) years and nearly half (48.3%) were girls. About 84.5% of the children had consumed SSBs over the past three months, and sugar-sweetened milk beverages had the highest consumption rate. Higher exposure to advertisements for the corresponding SSB categories in children, higher frequency rates of consuming SSBs and of taking children to fast-food restaurants in caregivers, and lower frequency rates of reading the Nutrition Facts Panels by caregivers were associated with higher SSB consumption rates among children (p < 0.05 in all of the SSB categories investigated, except for the Nutrition Facts Panel reading behaviors for the sports and energy beverages). SSB consumption among preschoolers is of concern, and comprehensive policy actions and education are urgently needed.

Types and Aspects of Front-of-Package Labeling Preferred by Parents: Insights for Policy Making in China.

The WHO recommends front-of-package labeling (FOPL) to help parents make healthier food choices for their children. But which type of FOPL resonates with parents in China? We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate parental preferences for five widely used formats of FOPL. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was applied to selected parents of students in primary and secondary schools in six provinces and municipalities from July 2020 to March 2021. A close-ended questionnaire was used to collect demographic information, parents' preferences for five FOPL in three dimensions, perceptions of the importance of nutrients labeled on FOPL, and prepackaged foods that need FOPL most. Chi-square tests were used to examine the characteristics among five groups. The results showed that multiple traffic lights (MTL) was preferred by parents, followed by warning labels. Parents thought the most needed nutrients to label were sugar, salt, and total fat. The top three prepackaged foods to label were "baked food", "milk and dairy products" and "sugar-sweetened beverages". Our findings indicate that nutrient-specific FOPL formats with interpretive aids were preferred by Chinese parents. These new findings can help inform the planning and implementation of FOPL in China and help Chinese parents make healthier food choices.