Parental Mental Health, Feeding Practices, and Sociodemographic Factors as Determinants of Childhood Obesity in Greece.

Parental BMI showed a strong positive association with child BMI.

• Statistical significance at p = 0.002
• Study included 103 parent-child dyads in a cross-sectional design
• Children's BMI was classified using WHO growth standards
• Analysis used Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests

Higher parental anxiety and depression were associated with increased child BMI.

• Parental anxiety was associated with higher child BMI at p = 0.002
• Parental depression was associated with higher child BMI at p = 0.009
• Parental stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the PSS-14 and DASS-21 questionnaires
• The study sample consisted of 103 parent-child dyads

Restrictive and emotion-driven feeding practices were associated with higher child BMI.

• Restrictive feeding practices were associated with higher child BMI at p < 0.001
• Emotion-driven feeding practices were associated with higher child BMI at p < 0.001
• Feeding practices were evaluated with the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ)

Monitoring and health-promoting feeding practices were associated with lower child BMI.

• Monitoring feeding practices showed a protective association with child BMI at p = 0.013
• Health-promoting feeding practices showed a protective association with child BMI at p = 0.001
• Feeding practices were evaluated with the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ)

Lower parental education was associated with higher BMI in both parents and children, and with more frequent use of restrictive feeding strategies.

• Lower parental education was related to higher parental BMI at p = 0.001
• Lower parental education was related to higher child BMI at p = 0.002
• Lower parental education was related to more frequent use of restrictive feeding strategies at p = 0.001

WHO growth charts identified a greater proportion of children as overweight or obese compared with CDC criteria, with statistically significant differences between the two classification systems.

• The analysis showed statistically significant differences between the two classification systems: χ2(4) = 159.704, p < 0.001
• The finding indicates that 'BMI categorization varies considerably depending on the reference system used'
• Children's BMI was classified using WHO growth standards as the primary reference

No significant associations were observed between residential environment or salivary cortisol and child BMI outcomes.

• Lack of significant associations was attributed to 'the limited size of the pilot biomarker subsample'
• A subsample of participants provided saliva samples for cortisol analysis to assess feasibility
• The salivary cortisol component was described as a 'pilot assessment' evaluating its feasibility as an objective biomarker of parental stress