Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the role that parent-child relationships play in the rise of adolescent obesity. 7,798 adolescents were selected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) for analysis. Through ordinal regression using both Wave I and Wave II of the data, it was shown that higher levels of communication between adolescents and their parents reduce the risk of overweight and obesity. Adolescents’ satisfaction with their relationship to their parents and family cohesion are also significant in reducing the risk of overweight and obesity. Adolescents’ perceptions of parental control, adolescents’ closeness to their parents, and the amount of activities that parents and adolescents do together do not show significant relationships to overweight and obesity in adolescents. Factors outside of parent-child relationship that are shown to be significant predictors of overweight and obesity in adolescents include household income, amount of physical activity, amount of television viewed and video games played, and skipping breakfast. These findings suggest that although the effect may be small in comparison to diet and exercise, parent-child relationships do play a significant role in the rise of adolescent obesity.
Further analysis is currently being done, which includes the third wave of this data set.