Carer perspectives on overweight, obesity and dental caries in early childhood: findings from a systematic qualitative review” by Cheng et al., Frontiers in Oral Health, 2025.
What was this study about?
This study looked at what parents and carers think about young children’s weight and teeth, especially when it comes to two common health issues: obesity and tooth decay (also called early childhood caries or ECC). These two conditions are often linked to feeding habits like inappropriate bottle feeding, such as bottles used in bed, or feeding to settle babies when they are not hungry.
Why is this important?
Both obesity and tooth decay in early childhood can lead to serious health problems later in life. These conditions can often be prevented if we support and understand parents better, such as why parents may feel cleaning their child’s teeth is or is not important, and empowering parents if they face challenging parenting situations, like a child refusing to brush their teeth or eat a family meal. The way parents view their child’s health and feel ready to address challenging parenting situations, influences what actions they take to prevent these issues.
What did the researchers do?
The authors reviewed 98 qualitative studies from around the world. They focused on parents of children aged 0–6 years and what these parents thought and felt about their child’s body weight and dental health. They analysed interviews and focus group discussions using a strengths-based approach, focusing on what parent’s value and know.
What did they find?
The study found three significant themes across these 98 studies:
- Parents want their children to be healthy, but how they define “healthy” varies. Some parents believe a chubby baby means a healthy baby. Some think baby teeth are not important because they fall out anyway.
- Parents respond when there are clear problems, for example, they will go to the dentist if a child is in pain or change eating habits if a child is teased for their weight. But many do not take action until problems are visible.
- Parents need more support. They want clear, practical, and culturally appropriate information. Many say it is hard to get help early, and they often feel unsure about what is “right,” especially when different health providers give mixed messages.
What does this mean for health professionals?
- Focus on strengths-based messages like “healthy teeth help kids smile and eat” rather than “your child is at risk of obesity and tooth decay.”
- Make sure parents understand the link between feeding practices, tooth decay, and weight gain — especially with bottle feeding. Few parents were aware that formula and bottle feeding could lead to overweight, obesity or tooth decay until after these occurred.
- Parents want children to have enjoyable experiences with food. Support parents to make family meals that everyone can eat and enjoy together. Avoid having ‘’treat foods’ to persuade children to eat meals they do not enjoy or settle children’s behaviours like stopping a tantrum.
- Support parents on choosing nutritious have energy to play, learn and grow. High sugar foods, like chocolate and sugary drinks, do not help children to grow, even if it seems that they give children lots of energy to play. Support parents early, before problems arise.
- Tailor messages to fit different cultures and family situations.
- Make services easy to access, and provide consistent advice across dental, medical, and child health services.
Summary
Parents care deeply about their child’s health, but often need more help — not just information, but confidence, access, and support that fits their lives. A coordinated, respectful, and culturally sensitive approach can help prevent obesity and dental decay from the start of a child’s life.
Full article can be found here: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oral-health/articles/10.3389/froh.2025.1524715/full
The INFANT program and training provides relevant and helpful resources. Information can be found here: https://www.infantprogram.org/
Information on the My Baby Now app – part of the INFANT program, which contains many helpful resources including on dental health, can be found here: https://www.infantprogram.org/mums-dads-and-carers/#my-baby-now