The association of fathers' nutrition knowledge and father food-parenting practices with child BMI percentile

This study examined North Carolina fathers of school-aged children (6-11 years) with a focus on father nutrition knowledge and food-parenting practices and whether there was an association with changes in child BMI percentile. Father coercive control practices, including restriction of foods, pressure to eat, and use of bribes to encourage child eating were not significantly related to estimated increases in child BMI percentiles (p = 0.0609). Higher father nutrition knowledge was associated with a modest decrease in child BMI percentile (p = 0.0064). Father diet quality was evaluated in a subset of families (n = 51). Father diet quality was scored according to the HEI-2015 diet quality index. The average father diet score was 58.62 which is consistent with the average HEI-2015 score of 58 for American adults aged 18-64 years; however, this diet quality score falls short of aligning with 2015-2020 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Fathers play a role in healthy child weight outcomes and should be considered in the development of family-based childhood obesity prevention education