Effects of a shared activities parenting intervention on weight outcomes in middle childhood: An exploratory study

General parenting interventions without an explicit focus on weight-related constructs have demonstrated lasting effects on child weight outcomes. However, well-established parenting interventions are time and resource intensive, which has limited their ability to transition to real-world delivery. This exploratory study examined whether Play With Me, a pilot at-home play-based general parenting intervention, affected weight outcomes in middle childhood. The intervention provided evidence-based parenting guidance that parents implemented in shared activities with their four-to-five-year-old children. Two years following the intervention, a follow-up survey was sent to families who had participated (N = 31), and parents (n = 27) reported child height and weight when children were 6.9 ± 0.6 years old. Children in the intervention group had a lower body mass index (BMI) in middle childhood, adjusting for baseline BMI, age, and sex (d = 0.52). Results were similar when examining BMI z-scores, percentiles, and overweight status, with children in the intervention group being less likely to meet clinical criteria for overweight at middle childhood follow-up than children in the control group (9.10 % intervention, 37.50 % control, V = 0.32). These exploratory findings add to the evidence supporting causal links between general parenting and child weight, extend this evidence to an interactive at-home intervention delivery model, and indicate that future rigorous, well-powered trials are needed to test whether results replicate and elucidate mechanisms through which general parenting may promote healthy child growth trajectories.