Evidence of the influence of Home and Family Environment

This chapter explores the influences of the physical, social - cultural and economic environment on children ' s eating behavior and physical activity. Socialization refers to the process by which a child learns the appropriate behaviors and ways to act in accordance with the cultural and/or societal norms. During childhood, parents are the main socializing agent and can have the biggest influence on their children ' s food consumption and physical activities. This is where life - long behaviors, habits and routines are learnt. This chapter explores the current research not only on parenting practices and energy - balance behaviors but also the wider determinates such as the environment and economic factors. We use the ANGELO categories of obesogenic environments 1 to describe evidence on home and family environmental influences on energy - balance behaviors among young people. The home and family are regarded as strong influences on determining children ' s and adolescents ' micro- level social, political, physical, as well as economical nutrition environments, and physical activity environments. We summarize the evidence from recent reviews and original studies which regard the home and family environment as important determinants for healthy eating and physical activities.