Child Food Fussiness and Its Associations with Parent Feeding Practices, Weight Status, and Skin Carotenoid Scores in Preschool Children

Authors

• Rachel Nicole Augustine, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Dipti Dev

Second Advisor

Lisa Franzen-Castle

Committee Members

Cara Ruggiero, Sarah Hortman

Date of this Version

7-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Nutrition and Health Science

Under the supervision of Professors Dipti Dev and Lisa Franzen-Castle

Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Rachel Nicole Augustine. Used by permission

Abstract

Background: Food fussiness in preschool children is associated with lower fruit and vegetable intake and poorer dietary quality. Although parent feeding practices are linked to child eating behaviors, limited research has examined how specific practices relate to food fussiness or whether they explain associations between food fussiness and dietary- and weight-related outcomes. This study examined associations among child food fussiness, parent feeding practices, body mass index (BMI)-for-age percentile, and skin carotenoid scores, and explored indirect pathways through parent feeding practices.

Methods: This cross-sectional secondary analysis included 93 preschool-aged children (3–5 years) attending 46 licensed Family Child Care Homes participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program in predominantly rural Nebraska. Food fussiness was assessed using the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and parent feeding practices were measured using selected subscales of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. Weight status was assessed using BMI-for-age percentile, and carotenoid-rich fruit and vegetable intake was estimated using Veggie Meter® skin carotenoid scores. Spearman correlations, multiple linear regression analyses adjusted for child age and gender, and exploratory indirect pathway analyses with 5,000 bootstrapped resamples were conducted.

Results: In bivariate analyses, higher food fussiness was associated with greater use of food as a reward (ρ = 0.22, p = .030) and lower parental modeling (ρ = −0.33, p = .001) and encouragement of balance and variety (ρ = −0.22, p = .031). After adjustment for child age and gender, food fussiness was associated with lower modeling (B = −0.29, p = .002), greater child control (B = 0.24, p = .014), and greater use of food as a reward (B = 0.28, p = .011). Food fussiness was not associated with BMI-for-age percentile or Veggie Meter^® scores, and no significant indirect effects were observed.

Conclusion: Food fussiness was associated with several parent feeding practices but not with BMI-for-age percentile or skin carotenoid status. These findings suggest that child appetitive traits are related to parental feeding behaviors in early childhood. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction of these relationships and their influence on children’s dietary behaviors over time.

Advisors: Dipti Dev and Lisa Franzen-Castle