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Parental Influence: Implications for the Prevention of

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Submitted By LatoyaArthur
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THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES CAVE HILL CAMPUS

Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Government, Sociology, Social
Work and Psychology

PSYC3022: RESEARCH PROJECT IN APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY

Parental Influence: Implications for the Prevention Of
Early Childhood Obesity

Abstract
The overall purpose of this study was to investigate whether parents serve as role models in influencing their children’s weight-related behaviours. Participants were 60 random parents of children from Barbados. Unlike previous research studies, the correlation analyses of this study indicated that the junk food or fast foods children consumed was negatively associated with the amount of income made by the parents or their education level. Although it was found that some children do model their parents’ behaviour when it comes to healthy food choices, the findings show that parents do not enforce the healthy eating practices unto their children. This study did not support the theory that children model adult eating behaviours on their own.

Parental Influence: Implications for the Prevention
Of Early Childhood Obesity

Some researchers in public health have concluded that the problem of early childhood obesity has reached near-epidemic proportions (Deckelbaum & Williams 2001; Puhl & Latner 2007). The problem of early childhood obesity and overweight appears to be on-going without implementation of early detection and prevention strategies (Stegelin 2008). The causes most commonly identified with the increase in early childhood obesity are inadequate physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, and poor diet (Campbell et al. 2006; Ebbeling, Pawlak & Ludwig 2002). Prior to 1990, early childhood obesity was largely viewed as a personal problem with the greatest responsibility falling on the parents and their children

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