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ABSTRACT: To determine whether controlling parental feeding practices are associated with children's adiposity and test the hypothesis that any associations are mediated by maternal perception of their child's weight.
Children aged 7-9 years (n=405) were weighed and measured at school as part of the Physical Exercise and Appetite in CHildren Study (PEACHES). Adiposity was indexed with body mass index s.d. scores. The Child Feeding Questionnaire was completed by 53% of mothers of participating children (n=213). Mothers reported whether they thought their child was overweight, normal weight or underweight, and rated their concern about future overweight on a 5-point scale.
Higher child adiposity was associated with lower 'pressure to eat' and higher 'restriction' scores. Restriction increased linearly with maternal concern about overweight, and maternal concern about overweight fully mediated the association between child adiposity and restriction. Use of pressure increased as mothers perceived their child to be thinner, but perceived weight did not mediate the association between child weight status and maternal pressure to eat. Monitoring was not associated with child adiposity, maternal perception of weight or concern about overweight.
Restriction appears to be a consequence of mothers' concern about their child becoming overweight rather than a cause of children's weight gain. Pressure may be a more complex response that is influenced by the desire to encourage consumption of healthy foods as well as ensure adequate energy intake and appropriate weight gain.
European journal of clinical nutrition 03/2010; 64(3):259-65. · 3.07 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: It is often assumed that heightened liking for energy-dense foods contributes to the development of obesity, however previous findings on the association between adiposity and liking among common foods are inconclusive in adults and there is limited research in children. Therefore the present study assessed the association between adiposity and liking for fatty or sugary foods, fruits and vegetables in children. A community sample of children aged 7-9 years (N=366) were recruited as part of the Physical Exercise and Appetite in CHildren Study (PEACHES). Anthropometric measurements (BMI- and waist-SD scores, fat mass index) were taken alongside self-reported liking for a list of fatty or sugary foods, fruits and vegetables. Regression analyses were used to predict liking from continuous adiposity measures (BMI- and waist-SD score, fat mass index). Linear trend analysis was used to assess the patterning of liking across weight categories. Vegetables were liked less than fatty or sugary foods or fruit, but there was no difference between liking for fruit and for fatty or sugary foods. Boys had a higher liking for fatty or sugary foods than girls, although sex-by-adiposity interactions were not significant for any of the food categories. There was no association between liking for any of the food categories and adiposity. This suggests that overweight in children is not reflective of differences in liking for selected common foods. Variation in appetitive responsiveness to food with increasing adiposity may be more salient in the development of obesity.
Appetite 07/2009; 52(3):603-8. · 2.59 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To test the hypothesis that quantitative variation in eating behaviour traits shows a graded association with weight in children.
Cross-sectional design in a community setting.
Data were from 406 families participating in the Physical Exercise and Appetite in CHildren Study (PEACHES) or the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). Children were aged 7-9 years (PEACHES) and 9-12 years (TEDS).
Weights and heights were measured by researchers. Body mass index (BMI) s.d. scores were used to categorize participants into underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese groups, with an additional division of the healthy weight group into higher and lower healthy weight at the 50th centile. Eating behaviour traits were assessed with the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ), completed by the parents on behalf of their child. Linear trend analyses compared CEBQ subscale scores across the five weight groups.
Satiety Responsiveness/Slowness in Eating and Food Fussiness showed a graded negative association with weight, whereas Food Responsiveness, Enjoyment of Food, Emotional Overeating and Desire to Drink were positively associated. All effects were maintained after controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, parental education and sample. There was no systematic association with weight for Emotional Undereating.
These results support the idea that approach-related and avoidance-related appetitive traits are systematically (and oppositely) related to adiposity, and not exclusively associated with obesity. Early assessment of these traits could be used as indicators of susceptibility to weight gain.
International journal of obesity (2005) 12/2008; 33(1):21-8. · 4.34 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To examine the association between eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) and adiposity in children.
Two cross-sectional studies in community settings.
For study 1, 348 children (178 girls and 170 boys) aged 7-9 years were recruited as part of the Physical Exercise and Appetite in Children Study. In study 2, participants were a subsample of children aged 9-12 years (N=316; 192 girls and 124 boys) from the Twins Early Development Study.
EAH was operationalized as intake of highly palatable sweet snacks after a mixed meal at school (study 1) or home (study 2). Weight (kg) and height (m) measurements were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) s.d. scores. Children were grouped using the standard criteria for underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity. The healthy weight range was further subdivided into lower healthy weight (<or=50th centile) and higher healthy weight (>50th centile) to examine the distribution of EAH across the adiposity continuum.
In both studies, EAH showed a significant positive association with adiposity in boys after adjusting for covariates (P<0.001), with a linear increase in the intake across underweight, healthy weight and overweight groups. The association between EAH and adiposity was not significant in girls in either study, although in study 1, results showed a quadratic trend, with EAH increasing through the underweight and healthy weight ranges and decreasing in overweight and obese groups.
EAH is a behavioural phenotype that is not specific to overweight children but instead shows a graded association with adiposity across the weight continuum, particularly in boys. In this study, the effect was less pronounced in girls, which may reflect social desirability pressures constraining food intake among heavier girls.
International journal of obesity (2005) 10/2008; 32(10):1499-505. · 4.34 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Objective: To examine the association between eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) and adiposity in children.
International Journal of Obesity 07/2008; 32(10):1499-1505. · 4.69 Impact Factor
