Study: Positive Parenting, Child Self-regulation Skills in Infancy and Early Childhood Can Help Reduce Risk of Later Obesity

A Pediatrics study found that children with positive early interactions with their mother – characterized by warmth and responsiveness to distress -- were at reduced risk of obesity in childhood. The study, “Family Psychosocial Assets, Child Behavioral Regulation, and Obesity,” published in the March 2022 Pediatrics (published online Feb. 7) identified the protective effects of positive parenting and other “psychosocial assets” – as well as children’s ability to self-regulate their behavior -- in infancy/toddlerhood (1 to 15 months) and early childhood (24 to 54 months). Both positive parenting and self-regulation buffered the negative effects of early adversity and lessened the risks of obesity or severe obesity from ages 2 to 15. Researchers analyzed data on 1,077 mother-child dyads provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. They found early exposure to positive parenting in childhood, and child behavioral regulation, may have long-term protective effects on weight gain and help children buffer risk factors such as poverty. The authors suggest the findings be used to tailor messages to parents about the potential value of improving familial and child psychosocial assets for the prevention of childhood obesity.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.