A pilot survey of socio-economic differences in child-feeding behaviours among parents of primary-school children.

OBJECTIVE: Parents food choices and weight, but little is known about the social class distribution of parent self-reported child-feeding behaviours in two socio-economically contrasting areas.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey using the Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire. Mean scores were calculated for five child-feeding behaviours: control over eating, emotional feeding, encouragement/prompting, instrumental feeding and restriction. Parents behaviours that might be used to directly influence children's food intake and weight.
CONCLUSIONS: Child-feeding behaviours differ between areas within a single city and within a largely white population, and this distribution is related to socio-economic and educational factors. Experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the potential role of child-feeding behaviours in childhood overweight and obesity.