Latent profile analysis of family food environment types and their associations with weight status in school-aged children

HUANG Youlin; ZHU Ziyi; XU Yunwen; SHI Wenbing; YANG Yuchen; TONG Yuhao; YAN Mingyu; ZHU Hanfei; ZHU Shuqin; XU Qin

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0332

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (10) : 1122-1127. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0332

Early-life Prevention of Chronic Disease

Latent profile analysis of family food environment types and their associations with weight status in school-aged children

HUANG Youlin¹, ZHU Ziyi¹, XU Yunwen², SHI Wenbing¹, YANG Yuchen¹, TONG Yuhao¹, YAN Mingyu¹, ZHU Hanfei¹, ZHU Shuqin¹, XU Qin¹

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Abstract

Objective To identify latent profiles of the family food environment among school-aged children, and to examine their associations with children's weight status, in order to provide evidence for targeted family-based interventions. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2022 and February 2023. School-aged children and their primary caregivers were recruited from two primary schools in Nanjing using multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Family Food Environment Questionnaire, the Child Feeding Questionnaire, and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Children. Latent profile analysis was performed to identify distinct profiles of the family food environment. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the associations between family food environment profiles and children's weight status. Results A total of 1 015 valid questionnaires were included, with a valid response rate of 88.11%. Four family food environment profiles were identified: rule-guided (30.15%), coercion-and-concern (9.16%), abundance-and-permissiveness (37.34%), and scarcity-and-control (23.35%). After adjustment for potential confounders, including the children's age and sex and parental educational attainment, and using normal weight as the outcome reference and the scarcity-and-control profile as the exposure reference, the rule-guided and coercion-and-concern profiles were negatively associated with overweight (OR=0.383,0.418) and obesity (OR=0.198, 0.147, P<0.001). No statistically significant associations were observed between the abundance-and-permissiveness profile and either overweight or obesity (P>0.05). Conclusions The associations between the family food environment and weight status vary across different family food environment profiles among school-aged children. Family-based interventions for childhood obesity should adopt tailored strategies according to specific family food environment profiles.

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family food environment / school-aged children / overweight and obesity / latent profile analysis

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HUANG Youlin, ZHU Ziyi, XU Yunwen, SHI Wenbing, YANG Yuchen, TONG Yuhao, YAN Mingyu, ZHU Hanfei, ZHU Shuqin, XU Qin. Latent profile analysis of family food environment types and their associations with weight status in school-aged children[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(10): 1122-1127 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0332

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