Association of Parental Feeding Styles with Body Composition Among Children in Two Regions in China

Background: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between parental feeding practices and children’s body composition in two Chinese regions with distinct socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shenzhen (economically developed) and Yulin (economically underdeveloped) regions. Data were collected in 2023 from 1298 (age 8–10 years) children and their parents in two regions. Overweight/obesity was defined by Chinese national standards (WS/T 586-2018), and parental feeding practices were assessed using a 26-item child feeding questionnaire (CFQ). Multivariable regression analysis was performed to assess whether the association between parental feeding practices and obesity in children differs by regions. Results: A total of 1298 participants were included, with 678 male students (52.23%) and a mean age of 10.65 ± 0.86 years. In two regions, children with higher pressure to eat (PE) scores had lower rates of overweight, obesity and central obesity. Significant positive associations were observed between children’s body composition and parental feeding practices, including PE, perceived child weight (PCW), and concern about child weight (CN) (all p < 0.001). In regional interaction analysis, PCW had significant positive associations with fat mass index (FMI) (β = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.18, 0.46). Meanwhile, CN also had significant positive associations with both FMI (β = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.54) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) (β = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.11) (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: Obesity, central obesity, and body composition in children were associated with parental feeding practices in the two regions. CN was associated with higher risk of obesity and central obesity in the two regions. Future efforts to prevent obesity in children may optimize parental feeding practices, especially more scientific awareness of children’s weight status while reducing undue concern.