Feeding difficulties in pre-schoolers: associations with parental feeding practices

Objective: investigate the factors associated with eating difficulties among preschoolers. Methods: this cross-sectional study was attended by 730 parents of children, aged 4 to 6 years, enrolled at public schools and private. Feeding difficulty was evaluated based on the parents' reports, which included responses to questionnaire items about their parental feeding practices and their children's eating behavior. Socio-demographic information, birth conditions, food history and anthropometric data also were collected. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the data. Results: the prevalence of feeding difficulty reported by parents was 34.1%. The factors associated with feeding difficulty included lower BMI-for-age z-scores, parental history of feeding difficulty, a higher frequency of repeated exposure to new foods, use of food as a reward, children control over feeding, and less guidance on healthy eating. Conclusion: Feeding difficulty is a frequent complaint among parents of preschoolers and this behavior is strongly associated with parental feeding practices.