Relationship between caregiver empathy, parental feeding styles, and children’s food consumption: a cross‑sectional study

Abstract

Caregiver empathy is crucial in shaping children’s eating behaviors, yet its relationship with food consumption remains unexplored. Empathy influences parental feeding styles, affecting the responsiveness of caregiving practices. Investigating this interaction can provide valuable insights into how these factors together impact children’s dietary patterns, contributing to strategies for healthier food consumption. The objective of the cross-sectional study was to evaluate the empathy of caregivers and the parental feeding styles and their relationships with the food consumption of children aged 6 to 11 years. The sample consisted of 78 children (8.51 ± 1.59 years) and their respective caregivers from a Brazilian municipality. The caregivers responded to the empathy inventory, the caregiver’s feeding styles questionnaire, and the food frequency questionnaire, the latter concerning the children’s food consumption. The foods in the food frequency questionnaire were classified according to the NOVA classification into unprocessed and minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultraprocessed foods. Spearman and Pearson correlations were performed to evaluate the relationships between the variables, and Kruskal–Wallis and ANOVA tests to compare food consumption across parental feeding styles. Positive significant relationships were found between caregiver empathy subscale and the consumption of some healthy foods. Altruism and the consumption of whole milk (ρs = 0.387, p < 0.001; ρ2s = 0.150), perspective-taking and lettuce consumption (ρs = 0.225, p = 0.047; ρs2 = 0.051), and interpersonal flexibility and the consumption of skinless chicken (ρs = 0.336, p = 0.003; ρ2s = 0.113). Relationships were also found between caregiver empathy and the reduction of the consumption of certain unhealthy foods: altruism and the consumption of yellow cheeses (ρs = − 0.289, p = 0.010; ρ2s = 0.084) and interpersonal flexibility and the consumption of soda (ρs = − 0.231, p = 0.042; ρ2s = 0.053). Relations were also found between the dimensions of parental feeding styles and specific foods. A significant negative relationship between demandingness and the consumption of cabbage (ρs = − 0.358, p = 0.001; ρ2s = 0.128) and between responsiveness and the consumption of soda (ρs = − 0.319, p = 0.004; ρ2s = 0.102). Although the study was conducted with a small sample size, the results are important as they demonstrate the relationships between caregiver empathy, parental feeding styles, and children’s food consumption. Understanding these relationships can assist in the development of nutrition education strategies and policies that integrate this knowledge. The results also serve to stimulate further studies involving empathy, parental feeding styles, and children’s food consumption, aiming to improve children’s nutrition and reduce the risks of non-communicable chronic diseases.