A couple of confounding factors would be that parents rated executive functioning skills of the preschoolers vs a test (if possible researcher blind) to look at various executive functioning skills. Another would be that parents who advocate impulse control have normal weight kids and those who don’t have overweight and obese kids since brains grow based on how our parents and environments shape us. An example of this would be parents who make kids wait until dinner to eat and don’t allow endless snacks, maybe the child has to choose between candy or a soda. This would help children develop executive functioning skills. Parents with obese kids may not have limits around food, causing the skills not to develop (ie are you hungry or bored when you want a snack).