1. Results Paired-samples T-tests Parents decreased restricted eating (change = -0.14), pressure to eat (change = -0.20), and increased monitoring (change = 0.37) following intervention. Youth increased weekly intake of F&V (change =.76) and decreased weekly intake of SS Bev. (change = -1.89) following intervention. Youth decreased BMIz at post (change =.07). Note: Youth also decreased in BMIz at 6 month follow up (N=70; change = -.13, p <.001). Regression Analyses Multiple linear regression revealed changes in parental feeding practices did not predict changes in youth BMIz at post-intervention (F (3,83) =.09, p = 0.996). Multiple linear regression revealed changes in Restricted and Pressure to Eat subscales were unrelated to youth’s changes in F&V (F (2,75) = 1.82, p = 0.118) and SS Bev. (F (2,79) = 1.34, p = 0.256). However, as an individual predictor, increased Monitoring predicted increased intake of weekly F&V (B = 0.52, p <.05) and decreased weekly SS Bev (B = -0.68, p <.05). Parental Feeding Behaviors During a Pediatric Obesity Intervention for Young Children Meredith Dreyer Gillette, PhD 1,2, Kelsey Borner, MA 1,3, Tarrah Mitchell, MA 1,3 Julie Vandal, RD, LD 1, & Sarah Hampl, MD 1,4 1 Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, Kansas City, Missouri 2 Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 3 University of Kansas, Clinical Child Psychology Program, Lawrence, Kansas 4 Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri Background Although interventions for preschool children with obesity are emerging, little is known about indicators of treatment success. Parental feeding practices are associated with child weight status (Faith et al., 2004) and previous literature finds changes in parental feeding practices (reduced restrictive feeding) predict improved child weight outcomes among school-age children (Holland et al., 2014); however, no research has investigated this topic among young children with obesity. Objective: To examine the relationship between changes in parental feeding practices and changes in child eating behaviors and weight outcomes during a 6- week intervention. Conclusions Children demonstrated increased intake of fruits and vegetables and decreased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages following 6-week intervention. Youth evidenced significant improvements in BMIz following intervention which was maintained at 6-month follow up. Parents demonstrated improvements in feeding practices following intervention. Increased parental monitoring was associated with improved child health behaviors (e.g, fruit and vegetable and sugar sweetened beverage consumption). However, improvements in feeding practices were unrelated to child BMIz, suggesting that other factors may be more associated with the BMIz change. Future interventions with young children with obesity may benefit from increasing parental skills in monitoring of feeding. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the Menorah Legacy Foundation, Kenneth and Eva S. Smith Scholar in Pediatric Obesity grant, and the Junior League of Kansas City for the support of the program. Additionally, we would like to thank the families for participating in the program and the additional staff and volunteers required to run Zoom to Health. Methods Procedures: Participants were youth and parents enrolled in a 6-week family-based group pediatric obesity intervention, Zoom to Health. Zoom to Health targeted young children between the ages of 2 and 8 years. Participating children and parents attended weekly education groups including nutrition education and physical activity. Parent intervention was delivered by a clinical child psychologist and registered dietitian. Parents completed study measures at baseline and post-intervention. Children’s height and weight were taken at baseline and at post-intervention using standardized procedures. Measures: Parents completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire in English or Spanish (Birch et al., 2001). The Restricted Eating (8 items; restricting their child’s access to foods), Monitoring (3 items; overseeing their child’s eating), and Pressure to Eat (4 items; tendency to pressure their child to eat more food) subscales were used for analyses. All items were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Average scores for each subscale were used for analyses. Parents reported on number of fruits and vegetables (F&V), and sugar-sweetened beverages (SS Bev) children consumed at baseline and post-intervention. Child height, weight, age, and gender were used to calculate BMI z-scores and BMI percentiles. Participants: 110 youths ages 2-8 years; Mean age = 6.68 years (SD = 1.57) Mean baseline BMI z-score (BMIz) = 2.61 (range: 1.06 – 4.90; SD = 0.55) Mean baseline BMI %ile = 98.98 (range: 85.53 – 100; SD = 1.75) Female: 65%; Male: 35% Racial/Ethnic identity: African American: N = 30; 29%Biracial: N = 3; 3% Caucasian: N = 21; 20% Latino: N = 48; 46% Other: N = 3; 3% NBaseline (SD)Post (SD)TP-value Parental Feeding Practices Restricted873.94 (.54)3.80 (.58)2.35.021 Pressure882.45 (1.07)2.25 (.94)2.25.027 Monitoring933.87 (.94)4.24 (.84)-3.63.000 Child Health Outcomes Fruits & Veg.1102.69 (1.36)3.45 (1.36)-4.76.000 SS Bev.1093.72 (2.83)1.83 (1.63)7.40.000 BMIz1052.61 (.55)2.54 (.54)7.87.000 Table 1. Baseline and post-intervention mean values, standard deviations (SD), and paired-samples t-tests results for parental feeding practices and child health outcomes. References Clark, H. R., Goyder, E., Bissell, P., Blank, L., & Peters, J. (2007). How do parents' child-feeding behaviors influence child weight? Implications for childhood obesity policy. Journal of Public Health, 29(2), 132-141. Birch, L. L., Fisher, J. O., Grimm-Thomas, K., Markey, C. N., Sawyer, R., & Johnson, S. L. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: a measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity. proneness. Appetite, 36(3), 201-210. Faith, M. S., Berkowitz, R. I., Stallings, V. A., Kerns, J., Storey, M., & Stunkard, A. J. (2004). Parental feeding attitudes and styles and child body mass index: prospective analysis of a gene-environment interaction. Pediatrics, 114(4), 429-436. Holland, J. C., Kolko, R. P., Stein, R. I., Welch, R. R., Perri, M. G., Schechtman, K. B.,... & Wilfley, D. E. (2014). Modifications in parent feeding practices and child diet during family ‐ based behavioral treatment improve child zBMI. Obesity, 22(5), E119-E126. Data Analysis Paired-samples T-tests examined changes in parental behaviors during the intervention. Linear regression examined the associations between changes in parental behaviors and child outcomes, controlling for child gender and age.