Perceived Parenting Style and the Eating Practices of College Freshmen

Background: Unhealthy eating contributes to morbidity in adolescents and college students and is an antecedent of premature mortality in adulthood. It has been suggested that the increase in independence (i.e., living away from parents) of adolescents contributes to their poor eating behaviors. Some literature reports that specific parenting styles may reduce the probability of engaging in poor eating practices. Purpose: We investigated the association between college freshmen's eating practices and their perceptions of parenting style. Methods: An Internet-based survey was used to sample 264 college freshmen between the ages of 18 and 20 years from a large southeastern university. Data analysis used univariate and bivariate statistics along with multiple regression analysis. Results: Student eating practices fell short of optimal dietary recommendations. Whereas the literature suggests that parenting style predicts healthy eating during early adolescence, it did not predict healthy eating in this sample of college freshmen, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in eating practices. Nevertheless, responses to an open-ended question suggested that some students believed that parents had influenced their current eating behaviors. Discussion: We found little evidence of any latent effects of parenting style on eating behaviors among college freshmen. Translation to Health Education Practice: Despite positive parental influences, as it relates to health eating, continued reinforcement at the individual (e.g., skill enhancement with regard to meal preparation), interpersonal (e.g., role modeling healthy eating practices among peers), community (e.g., establishing famers' markets) and organizational (e.g., increased access to healthy food options in cafeterias) levels is needed.