Objective: This study aimed to describe changes in families’ home food environment and parent feeding practices, from before to during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, and examine whether changes differed by food security status.Methods: Parents (N = 584) in the US completed a single online survey, reporting on food security, home food availability, and feeding practices both retrospectively (considering before COVID‐19) and currently (during COVID‐19). χ² and univariate regressions examined associations by food security status.Results: The percent of families reporting very low food security increased by 20% from before to during COVID‐19 (P < 0.01). About one‐third of families increased the amount of high‐calorie snack foods, desserts/sweets, and fresh foods in their home; 47% increased nonperishable processed foods. Concern about child overweight increased during COVID‐19, with a greater increase for food‐insecure versus food‐secure parents (P < 0.01). Use of restriction, pressure to eat, and monitoring increased, with a greater increase in pressure to eat for parents with food insecurity compared with food‐secure parents (P < 0.05).Conclusions: During COVID‐19, increases in very low food security and changes in the home food environment and parent feeding practices were observed. Results highlight the need to address negative impacts of COVID‐19 on children’s obesity risk, particularly among those facing health disparities.

Video Abstract Video Abstract Family-based lifestyle interventions are recommended for adolescent obesity treatment, yet the optimal role of parents in treatment is unclear. To examine systematically the evidence from prospective randomized controlled and/or clinical trials (RCTs) to identify how parents have been involved in adolescent obesity treatment and to identify the optimal type of parental involvement to improve adolescent weight outcomes. Data sources included PubMed, PsychINFO, and Medline (inception to July 2019). RCTs evaluating adolescent (12–18 years of age) obesity treatment interventions that included parents were reviewed. Studies had to include a weight-related primary outcome (BMI and BMI z score). Eligible studies were identified and reviewed, following the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Study quality and risk of bias were evaluated by using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. This search identified 32 studies, of which 23 were unique RCTs. Only 5 trials experimentally manipulated the role of parents. There was diversity in the treatment target (parent, adolescent, or both) and format (group sessions, separate sessions, or mixed) of the behavioral weight loss interventions. Many studies lacked detail and/or assessments of parent-related behavioral strategies. In ∼40% of unique trials, no parent-related outcomes were reported, whereas parent weight was reported in 26% and associations between parent and adolescent weight change were examined in 17%. Only RCTs published in English in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion. Further research, with detailed reporting, is needed to inform clinical guidelines related to optimizing the role of parents in adolescent obesity treatment.

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. Most adult smokers began smoking during adolescence, making youth tobacco prevention an especially important public health goal. Guided by an extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined the role of psychosocial factors in accounting for adolescents' smoking intentions. Participants from three high schools (n = 785) were surveyed to assess smoking-related characteristics and behaviors as part of a statewide evaluation of tobacco prevention programming. Attitudes, subjective norms (and other normative factors) and perceived behavioral control were all associated with non-smokers' intentions to smoke. Having more favorable attitudes toward remaining tobacco free and perceiving that friends would not be supportive of smoking were both associated with decreased likelihood of intending to smoke. Normative influence and peer use were significant factors, such that having more friends who smoke was associated with increased odds of intent to smoke. Lastly, perceived difficulty to quit was related to smoking intentions, with higher confidence to quit significantly associated with intentions to smoke. Findings are consistent with the TPB—attitudes, normative factors and perceived behavioral control each helped account for non-smoking adolescents' intentions to smoke. Implications for theory and intervention building are discussed.