Predictors of maternal control over children's eating behaviour.

The aim of the study was to investigate the determinants of the level of control mothers exert over the food intake and eating behaviour of their young children. Questionnaires assessing maternal perception of child's weight status, control over food intake, body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint were completed by 89 mothers of 5-8-year-old children (40 boys, 49 girls). It was found that there was little difference between the control of boys' and girls' eating, but that the pattern of correlations was different. In particular, mothers' dietary restraint predicted the degree of monitoring of daughters', but not sons', eating behaviour, even when actual and perceived weight of the child were taken into account. It was concluded that the degree of control over child-feeding might provide a behavioural mechanism for the inter-generational transmission of eating attitudes and beliefs within families.