A recent British study examined the relationship between parental pressure about food and children’s eating habits.
Researchers looked at parental tactics that pressure kids to eat healthy, clean their plate, and try different foods. A number of previous studies showed that strict parental control was likely to cause less than ideal eating habits in children.
"Child enjoyment of food was linked to lower maternal pressure to eat," said Jane Wardle, lead author of a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
After surveying 213 mothers of 7- to 9-year-old children, researchers found an overall correlation between the mothers’ pressure to eat healthy food and children’s degree of fussiness over food. However, no causal relationship has been proven, and it is still unknown whether fussy eaters cause more parental mealtime control, or vice versa.
"With growing evidence of a genetic basis to eating behaviour and food intake in children, the present results are consistent with the idea that mothers’ feeding practices are, to some extent, responsive to their children’s predispositions toward food," said the study.
The researchers emphasized the importance of recognizing that children may both influence, and be influenced by, their parents’ diet management.