Giampaoli, J., Goto, K., Hart, S., Yang, S., Wylie, A/ Californian Journal of Health Promotion 2019, Volume 17, Issue 1, Pages 45- 60. 45 Factors Associated with Mindful Food Parenting Practices Joan Giampaoli 1 , Keiko Goto 1 , Shelley R. Hart 2 , Sheng Yang 3 , and Alyson Wylie 4 1 Department of Nutrition and Food Science, CSU, Chico 2 Department of Child Development, CSU, Chico 3 Department of Sociology, CSU, Chico 4 Center for Healthy Communities (CHC), CSU, Chico Abstract Background and Purpose: The prevalence of childhood obesity remains a concern in the United States and puts children at risk for poor health. As parents are the primary caretakers of their children, the practice of mindful food parenting may help parents moderate their child’s food consumption and food choices. The purpose of this research was to identify the factors associated with mindful food parenting practices among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white parents in two low-income schools in rural northern California. Methods: Two hundred ninety three parents of 3 rd through 5 th grade elementary school children completed a four part mindful food parenting practices survey developed to measure the factors associated with mindful food parenting practices. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed four mindful food parenting practices domains which were positively associated with several mindful food parenting practices such as eating family meals together and present-centered awareness (p≤0.001) and cooking meals at home and hunger- fullness awareness (p≤0.001). Several demographic variables were associated with the mindful food parenting practices. Conclusions: As parents are more mindful and attentive to their child’s eating behaviors, there is a greater potential for a positive parental impact on their child’s food intake and types of foods consumed, and indirectly, the health of their child. © 2019 Californian Journal of Health Promotion. All rights reserved. Keywords: mindfulness, mindful food parenting practices, obesity, elementary school children Introduction Childhood Obesity Statistics Child obesity remains a concern in the United States despite focused efforts on reducing this epidemic (Dalen, Brody, Staples, & Sedillo, 2015; Skinner, Ravenbakht, Skelton, Perrin, & Armstrong, 2018). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC-NCHS) report the prevalence of obesity among youth aged 2-19 in 2015-2016 at 18.5% with an increase in prevalence being observed from 1999-2000 and 2015-2016. (CDC-NCHS, 2017). Hispanic youths (25.8%) and non-Hispanic black youths (22.0%) had higher obesity prevalence rates than non-Hispanic white youths (14.1%) (CDC, 2018). Children from low-income families are disproportionately affected by obesity (Singh, Siahpush, & Kogan, 2010). Ogden, Carroll, Fakhouri, Hales, Fryar, Li, and Freedman (2018) analyzed data from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Findings from their analysis revealed the prevalence of obesity was highest (18.9%) in the lowest income group and lowest the highest income group (10.9%). Further, Ogden et al., (2018) found that the prevalence of obesity decreased with the increasing level of education of the head of household. Home environmental characteristics have been associated with obesity such as eating practices in the home, eating-related parenting styles, and family relationships (Bauer, Berge, & Neumark- Aztainer, 2011).