1] Department of Physical Education, Laval University, Québec, Québec, Canada [2] The Quebec Heart and Lung Research Institute, Laval Hospital, Québec, Québec, Canada.
Parental eating behavior traits have been shown to be related to the adiposity of their young children. It is unknown whether this relationship persists in older offspring or whether rigid or flexible control are involved. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that parental eating behavior traits, as measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), are related to offspring body weight.
Cross-sectional anthropometric and TFEQ data from phase 2 and 3 of the Québec Family Study generated 192 parent-offspring dyads (offspring age range: 10-37 years). Relationships were adjusted for offspring age, sex and reported physical activity, number of offspring per family and parent body mass index (BMI).
In all parent-offspring dyads, parental rigid control and disinhibition scores were positively related to offspring BMI (r=0.17, P=0.02; r=0.18, P