Objective: To examine the existing literature on the relation between contextual and health factors that influence parent intention for child health behavior change, focusing on the importance of a strong theoretical background and measures that match the proposed theory, and to determine the use of intention in the proposed sample of articles. Method: A preliminary search was conducted, seeking out interventions and programs that target nutrition and/or physical activity in relation to childhood obesity prevention using PsycINFO and MedLine databases. This search totaled 29 studies to be included in the final review. Results: Ten articles studied intention as a dependent variable, twelve with intention as in independent variable, and seven with intention as a mediating variable. A majority of the articles included a theoretical background (86.2%), while 13.8% of the articles did not include any. Seven overall constructs of interest were established: intention/goal, attitudes, self-efficacy, behavior, social support, knowledge/awareness, and norms. Effect sizes for significant pathways were collected/calculated for the specified variables. Finally, behavioral intention was measured inconsistently in each article, some providing reliability, validity, and/or references for the scales measuring intention, while some did not. Conclusions: Childhood obesity prevention and intervention literature is inconsistent in the use of theory, strong measurement, and incorporation of other fields of psychology.