Many daily routines and behaviors are related to the prevalence of obesity. This study investigated the association between routines and behaviors that act as protective factors related to lower prevalence of obesity in parents (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and overweight in preschool children (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). Socio-demographic characteristics were assessed in relation to protective routines (PRs), and prevalence of obesity/overweight data from 337 preschool children and their parents. The two PRs assessed with parents included adequate sleep (≥ 7 hours/night) and family mealtime routine (scoring higher than the median score). The four PRs assessed in children included adequate sleep (≥ 10 hours/night), family mealtime routine, limiting screen-viewing time (≤ 2 hours/day of TV, video, DVD), and not having a bedroom TV. Overall, 27.9% of parents were obese and 22.8% of children were overweight, and 39.8% of the parents had both parent PRs, and only 11.6% of children had all four child PRs. Results demonstrated that several demographic factors were significantly related to the use of PRs for parents and children. The lack of PRs was related to increased risk for overweight in children, but not for obesity in parents. However, in the adjusted models the overall cumulative benefits of using PRs was not significant in children either. In the multivariate adjusted logistic regression models, the only significant individual PR for children was adequate sleep. In a path analysis model, parent sleep was related to child sleep, which was in turn related to decreased obesity. Overall, findings suggest that parent and child PRs, especially sleep routines, within a family can be associated and may play an important role in the health outcomes of both parents and children. Understanding the mechanisms that influence how and when parents and children use these PRs may be promising for developing targeted family-based obesity-prevention efforts.

In a cluster analysis of a multivariate data set, it may happen that one or two observations have a disproportionately large effect on the analysis, in the sense that their removal causes a dramatic change to the results. It is important to be able to identify such influential observations, and the present paper addresses this problem. To do so, we must first quantify the effect of a single observation. Various definitions are discussed, and criteria for identifying influential observations are investigated; the minimum spanning tree and the number of neighbours of each observation are considered. The investigation concentrates on single-link cluster analysis, although complete-link analysis is also briefly discussed. Patterns emerge in both real and simulated data, which suggest ways of predicting observations with no effect and those with the greatest effect. It is not necessary to recalculate the results with each observation omitted—an economy of presentation as well as labour.

The purpose of this formative, cross-sectional study was to describe independent eating occasions (iEOs) among a convenience sample of low-income early adolescents (10–13 years, n = 46) in 10 U.S. states, including environmental context, foods selected and reasons for selection, and parental rules about foods consumed. Participants took pictures of all foods consumed over 24 h and participated in semi-structured interviews to describe the context of each eating occasion using the pictures as a guide. Responses based on a total of 304 eating occasions were coded to classify foods based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate food groups and to characterize parental rules and reasons for food selection. Average age was 10.9 ± 1.1 years and 60% were female. Approximately 58% of eating occasions were classified as iEOs with approximately 65% as snacks. Most iEOs took place at home. Foods frequently consumed during iEOs were from the sweets, total fruit, dairy, and whole fruit food categories. Primary parental rules for iEOs focused on avoiding certain foods and not eating too much. Early adolescents selected foods for convenience, taste preferences, and availability. Foods selected during iEOs were based on parent, household and early adolescent factors, which could be addressed to influence overall diet quality.

Background: Although numerous physical and mental health benefits for children have been linked to family dinners, many families still do not have regular family meals together. This study sought to identify the barriers that keep families from having dinners together. Methods: We interviewed 42 parents of 5-to-8-year-old children in small focus groups to identify barriers and challenges that keep families from having healthy and consistent dinners together. Results: Parents reported the main barriers were time (e.g., time strain and overscheduling, mismatched schedules, long work hours, etc.), lack of meal planning or failure to follow plans, lack of skills (e.g., cooking skills or nutritional awareness), external factors (e.g., daycare, schools, or extended family, and competing with advertising), and food-related challenges (e.g., picky eating, food allergies). Parents also suggested potential solutions to overcome these barriers. Conclusions: Overall, parents had a desire to have family dinners with their children, but they felt that there are many barriers keeping them from establishing or maintaining consistent family mealtimes. Future research, as well as child obesity prevention and intervention efforts, should consider these barriers and suggested solutions in efforts to promote healthy and consistent family meals as a means of lowering the prevalence of childhood obesity.