Assessment of Parental Feeding Pattern on Childhood Obesity in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract Background Childhood obesity is a global public health concern with substantial physical, psychological and socioeconomic consequences. While parents play a pivotal role in shaping dietary behaviours, there is limited localized evidence on how specific household feeding regimes influence childhood weight trajectories in expanding urban centres of developing nations. This study assessed parental feeding patterns and their influence on childhood obesity among residents in Benin City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods A descriptive survey research design was adopted using a multi-stage sampling technique to select 360 parents across three local government areas (Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba Okha) in Benin City. Data collection utilized a structured questionnaire to capture socio-demographic characteristics and Likert-scale items on feeding routines. Concurrently, standard anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were recorded to calculate BMI-for-age Z-scores based on WHO growth references. Out of the distributed instruments, 318 valid copies were successfully retrieved and analysed using SPSS Version 27.0. Statistical evaluations included descriptive frequencies, Chi-Square (χ²) tests of independence and binary logistic regression analysis. Results Anthropometric profiling revealed a combined overweight and obesity prevalence of 38.99% (23.90% overweight and 15.09% obese). The dietary landscape reflected a dual trend where modern convenience options actively compete with traditional routines, characterized by high frequencies of fast-food provision (Mean = 3.04) alongside high breakfast compliance (Mean = 2.97). Chi-square analysis demonstrated a highly significant relationship between unhealthier parental feeding styles and elevated rates of childhood obesity (χ² = 19.653, df = 1, p = 0.0001). Furthermore, feeding choices were significantly associated with parental age, household income or socioeconomic status, religious affiliation and family structure (p < 0.05). Multi-variable binary logistic regression confirmed that frequent fast-food provision was the strongest predictor which increased childhood obesity odds by 3.45 times (95 CI: [1.89, 6.21], p = 0.001), followed closely by serving large meal portions (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.91, p = 0.004) and the regular provision of sugary snacks (OR = 2.64, p = 0.007). Conclusion The study demonstrates that childhood obesity is a distinct public health challenge in urban Benin City which is heavily driven by convenience-based, energy-dense feeding routines. High household socioeconomic status and younger parental age lean sharply toward unhealthier dietary practices which highlights a profound nutrition transition. These findings emphasize an urgent need for family-cantered nutritional interventions, public health education and policy frameworks aimed at modifying parental feeding behaviours to curb the paediatric obesity epidemic in urban Nigeria.