A modified obesity proneness (MOP2) model explains adolescent weight concerns and lack of self-control with food

BACKGROUND: Because children learn eating behaviors in the context of a family environment, it is important to understand how this environment influences the development of disordered eating that may be carried over to school settings and contribute to overweight/obesity. PURPOSE: We investigated the ability of a modified obesity proneness (MOP) model to explain parental influence on development of disordered eating. SIGNIFICANCE: A Healthy People 2020 priority objective is “to reduce the proportion of adolescents who engage in disordered eating behaviors in an attempt to control their weight.” METHODS: A random cluster sample of 1533 public high school students from a Florida school district completed a survey about adolescents' weight concerns, ability to self-regulate eating, and perceptions about maternal beliefs/practices. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the ability of the MOP model to predict weight concerns and self-regulation of eating. FINDINGS: Although the original model was rejected for inadequate fit, an alternate model (MOP2) was plausible and cross-validated in a hold-out sample of high school youth. All the model's originally proposed relationships were statistically significant, e.g. perceived maternal weight comments were associated with adolescents' weight concerns (&beta=0.64; p<.0001), and perceived maternal restrictive feeding practices were associated with adolescents' inability to self-regulate eating (&beta=0.22; p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Weight concerns and lack of self-control with food are characteristic of disordered eating. Family and school level interventions addressing the model's constructs, e.g., mothers making weight-related comments and restricting children's dietary intake, may provide a partial solution to problems of disordered eating that contribute to obesity.