Parenting styles, food addiction and obesity A case study of Malaysian Chinese adolescents

This study aims to examine the relationships between parenting styles, food addiction and obesity among Malaysian Chinese adolescents, since their obesity rates are higher than other ethnics in Malaysia. 333 secondary students were recruited using the purposive sampling method to participate in a survey. The questionnaire included the parental authority questionnaire, Yale food addiction scale in addition to the details of height and weight for BMI. The results showed only authoritative parenting style is positively associated with food addiction. In addition, food addiction is not associated with BMI. Moreover, food addiction does not mediate the effects of parenting styles on BMI. These results are different from studies conducted on adults and adolescents from Western countries. These differences could be related to Asian cultural values and the location where participants were recruited from. Future studies may consider recruiting participants from urban areas in Asian countries to see whether different results can be obtained.

Keywords – adolescents, food addiction, Malaysia, obesity, parenting styles