Promoting The Self-Regulation Of Energy Intake

The intervention program was developed and piloted. Expected outcomes: At the end of the intervention program, it is expected that parents in the intervention group will: 1) use more child-centered (e.g., repeated presentation of new foods, involvement in food preparation) and less parent-centered feeding directives; 2) be less likely to show an indulgent and more likely to show an authoritative feeding style (feeding responsiveness); 3) show lower scores on restriction and pressure to eat and higher scores on monitoring; and 4) demonstrate higher levels of food knowledge (e.g., best feeding practices, reduced feeding misconceptions). Children in the intervention group are expected to: 1) show more willingness to try new foods, and 2) show increased self-regulation of energy intake. At the end of the interventions, children are expected to show greater consumption of fruits and vegetables (including consuming a wider variety of fruits and vegetables). All effects are expected to continue through the 6- and 12-month follow-ups, although the effects sizes will diminish. Although we do not expect effects on BMI after 6 weeks, we expect to see decreases in children's BMI percentiles by the 6- and 12-month follow-ups for the intervention group-especially for the top 25% of the BMI percentile range. No parental BMI effects are expected.

Inclusion criteria

• Parents whose children attend Head Start with the sample of children equally split on gender and ethnicity,
• with representation from ages 3 to 6 years.

Exclusion criteria

• Parents and children who have any kind of food allergies or diabetes or are on special diets will be excluded from the study.