Parental modeling may look like:

- Abnormal eating behavior in parents
- Parents endorsing harmful diets
- Parents complaining about their own weight/eating habits in front of child
- Parents comparing their own bodies to other people in front of child
- Parents consistently making comments about their own weight/specific body parts in front of child

University of Illinois at Chicago

Parental modeling is predictive of body dissatisfaction and maladaptive eating behaviors in children. Specifically, by engaging in weight loss behaviors, parents may indirectly transmit messages that reinforce the importance of the thin ideal. 

Parental Modeling 

Abraczinskas, M., Fisak Jr, B., & Barnes, R. D. (2012). The relation between parental influence, body image, and eating behaviors in a nonclinical female sample. Body Image, 9(1), 93-100.

The relation between parental influence, body image, and eating behaviors in a nonclinical female sample

Recent research shows that parental modeling is associated with body dissatisfaction in children. This finding can be explained by the prevalence of internalized societal beliefs concerning the ideal body shape and dieting as a means of achieving this ideal. 

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