The Mediator and/or Moderator Role of Complexity of Knowledge about Healthy Eating and Self-Regulated Behavior on the Relation between Family’s Income and Children’s Obesity

Beatriz Pereira, Pedro Rosário, Cátia Silva, Gabriela Figueiredo, José Carlos Núñez and Paula Magalhães
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Beatriz Pereira: Department of Applied Psychology, Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal
Pedro Rosário: Department of Applied Psychology, Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal
Cátia Silva: Department of Applied Psychology, Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal
Gabriela Figueiredo: Department of Applied Psychology, Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal
José Carlos Núñez: Department of Psychology, Universidad de Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo s/n. 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Paula Magalhães: Department of Applied Psychology, Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Childhood obesity rates have been increasing over the years and is considered one of the most serious public health problems of the century. Low socioeconomic status has been associated with a higher body mass index. However, the pathways underlying this complex relationship are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the possible mediation and/or moderation effects of complexity of knowledge about healthy eating, and self-regulation processes towards healthy eating, in the association between family’s income and weight of elementary school age children. The results showed that complexity of knowledge does not mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and weight. Still, whenever the levels of complexity of knowledge and self-regulation are high, there is a moderation effect of complexity of knowledge on the relationship between family’s income and weight, conditioned by self-regulation scores. These promising findings support the idea that knowledge about healthy eating in isolation could be insufficient for practicing a healthy diet and underline the relevance of combining transmission of knowledge with training in specific competences (e.g., self-regulation strategies). Considering that complexity of knowledge about healthy eating and self-regulation strategies are interrelated and can be both improved, future preventive interventions could consider incorporating both in their design to mitigate childhood obesity.

Keywords: elementary school age; BMI Z-scores; complexity of knowledge about healthy eating; family’s income; self-regulation; SOLO taxonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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