ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARENTING STYLES AND CHILDHOOD OVERWEIGHT

Introduction and Objective. Chile ranks sixth in childhood obesity worldwide. Individual lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) aimed at children have not been effective. It is possible that parenting style (PS) might influence the outcome of lifestyle interventions aimed at treating obesity. Among the existing PS, the authoritarian one has proven to have better long term results. However, whether PS is related to prevalence of childhood obesity, is not known. Our objective is to compare PS between normal and overweight children, in a sample from a disadvantaged population from Santiago, Chile. Methods. Our sample consists of 390 children aged between 3 and 12 years old. Using a cross-sectional design, we measured anthropometric features in children and caregivers. Caregivers answered structured surveys to identify PS (Parenting Dimension Inventory) and other variables related to demographics, depression and family functioning. Results and Conclusions. Currently, we have analyzed data from 72% of our sample (280/390 children). Most respondents are mothers (81%), aged 20 to 40 years (69%), with high school education (67%). Seventy five percent of caregivers and 45% of children are overweight or obese. The authoritative PS was most prevalent among caregivers (37%). Currently, there is no association between PS and children’s weight status. (p = 0.8) This is the first approach to characterize PS prevalence in Chile. We did not identify association between variables, which might be due to small sample size (broad confidence intervals). This outcomes would allow us to understand better the influence of PS in childhood obesity and plan.