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Abstract

Background: Adolescent obesity is associated with multiple health behaviours within the family context, including diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Parenting styles may influence these behaviours, yet the combined effects of parent-child behavioural patterns and parenting styles on adolescent weight outcomes remain understudied. Objective: To examine how mother-child patterns of diet, physical activity, screen time, and sleep behaviours are associated with adolescent zBMI, including the moderating role of parenting styles. Methods: Data from 478 Grade 7 adolescents and their parents were collected for the HABITs study (P.I. Dr. LC Mâsse) in Vancouver, British Columbia between 2019 and 2021. Participants completed questionnaires about their health behaviours and adolescents reported on parental demandingness and responsiveness. Latent class analysis was used to extract patterns of behaviours. Multilinear regressions were used to model the relationship between behaviour patterns and zBMI, and interaction terms were included to test for moderation effects. Exploratory analyses on adolescent-only behaviour patterns were used to supplement the primary analyses. Results: Neither mother-child nor adolescent-only behavioural patterns were significantly associated with zBMI. However, a meaningful three-way interaction (p < 0.20) emerged for adolescent-only behavioural groups between the healthiest group and the active + high screen group. Adolescents in the active + high screen group had a zBMI on average 2.00 units higher than the healthiest group under neglectful parenting (low responsiveness and low demandingness; p =0.12) and 0.91 units higher under authoritative parenting (high demandingness × high responsiveness; p = 0.17). Though not statistically significant, these interactions suggest that parenting style may moderate how adolescent behaviours impact weight, potentially shifting weight classification from healthy to overweight or obese. Conclusions: Findings indicate that parenting style may moderate the association between adolescent behaviours and weight. Future research with larger and diverse samples is needed to further examine these relationships. Understanding the interplay between family behaviour patterns and parenting styles could inform tailored interventions to support healthier weight trajectories in adolescents.