Food and physical activity parenting practices and children’s weight-related outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this study is to examine the associations between food parenting practices (FPP) and physical activity parenting practices (PAPP) with children’s weight-related outcomes (WRO), using food and physical activity parenting practices conceptual frameworks. Two systematic reviews with meta-analyses were conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Eligible studies included observational research reporting associations between FPP or PAPP domains—structure, control/coercive neglect/control, and autonomy promotion—and WRO in children aged 3–12. A total of 33 studies on FPP and 15 studies on PAPP were included. Findings from the meta-analyses suggest a small negative association between structure FPP and WRO. No significant associations were found for autonomy promotion or coercive control FPP domains. Regarding PAPP, our results suggest a small negative association between structure practices and lower WRO, and a small positive association between neglect/control PAPP and WRO. Structure parenting practices showed small but consistent associations with WRO, whereas findings for autonomy promotion and control/neglect domains were largely nonsignificant or mixed. Our findings do not support robust links between most FPP or PAPP domains and children’s WRO, but emphasize the need for high-quality longitudinal studies to clarify the predictive value and directionality of parenting practices on children’s WRO.