Eating behaviors of children in the context of their family environment

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.04.031

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 100, Issue 5, 14 July 2010, Pages 567-573

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.04.031 Get rights and content

Abstract

Both a family history of obesity and early childhood obesity have been identified as strong predictors of adult obesity risk. The finding that parental obesity, maternal obesity in particular, increases a child's risk for developing obesity suggests that either shared genes, or environment, or likely a combination of both may promote overeating and excessive weight gain in children. Parents not only create food environments for children's early experiences with food and eating, but they also influence their children's eating by modeling their own eating behaviors, taste preferences, and food choices. Thus, it is important to identify intermediary behavioral eating traits which promote overeating and obesity in children and to determine the extent to which associations between eating traits and excessive weight gain in children may be influenced by genetic factors, environmental factors, or both. Behavioral genetic methods can be used to help partition genetic and environmental sources of variability in behavioral traits. The focus of this paper is to review and discuss findings from both short-term experimental and prospective cohort studies on eating behaviors of children at various stages in their lives. Select child eating traits and parent–child resemblances in eating will be further examined in the context of children's home environment and their familial predisposition to obesity.

The paper represents an invited review by a symposium, award winner or keynote speaker at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior [SSIB] Annual Meeting in Portland, July 2009.

Introduction

Since the 1970s, the prevalence of obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI; kg/m²) at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same sex and age, has more than doubled for preschool children (ages 2–5 years) and adolescents (ages 12–19 years), and it has more than tripled for children ages 6–11 years [1]. The increase in childhood obesity is alarming not only because obese children exhibit risk factors for chronic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertension, and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], but also because both obesity and risk factors for chronic diseases can track from childhood into adulthood and thereby have lasting adverse health effects [7]. Data from a retrospective cohort study indicate that after six years of age, the risk for obesity in adulthood exceeded 50% for obese children, as compared with about 10% for nonobese children [8].

A family history of obesity has been identified as a strong risk factor for adult obesity. It is estimated that parental obesity more than doubles the risk of adult obesity among both obese and nonobese children under 10 years of age [8]. To better prevent childhood and adult obesity, it is crucial to identify early behavioral risk factors that predispose children to excessive weight gain during childhood. The aim of this review is to discuss select eating traits and parent–child resemblances in eating in the context of children's home environment and familial predisposition to obesity.

Section snippets

Obesity ‘runs in families’

Parental obesity, maternal obesity in particular, is a significant predictor of obesity in the offspring. A prospective cohort study by Strauss and Knight [9] showed that children of obese mothers were at a 3-fold increased risk for childhood obesity compared to children of nonobese mothers. Parental obesity confers its risk for obesity in the offspring through both shared genes and environmental factors. A growing body of research has examined direct genetic links between parent and child

High-risk design of obesity

In a high-risk design of obesity, children who are born at ‘high-risk’ are compared to children who are born at ‘low-risk’ for obesity on specific eating behaviors or food preferences. In this design, child risk status for obesity is commonly defined on the basis of parental, typically maternal, weight status [15]. Comparing eating behaviors of children whose parents differ in weight status (e.g., normal-weight versus overweight/obese) can be a useful strategy for testing whether familial

Familial transmission of taste preferences and food selections

Parents influence the development of children's taste preferences and food choices in multiple ways. One, parents pass their own food preferences and taste perceptions on to their children through genetic transmission. Twin designs can be used to provide estimates of genetic and environmental influences on child eating traits and food preferences [15]. For example, when assessing food preferences in 4- to 5-year-old monozygotic and dizygotic twins using maternal report, modest heritability for

Conclusion

The purpose of this review was to illustrate the role of familial predispositions and early influences in the home environment in the intergenerational transmission of food preferences and eating behaviors from parents to their children. More studies are needed to examine early-life risk factors for overeating and excessive weight gain in children from more diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is essential to identify children who are at greatest risk for excessive weight

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To fill this gap in the literature, the current study examined associations between early temperament styles and children's subsequent bite speed during family mealtimes under everyday environmental distractions. Children's eating speed emerge early in infancy in the form of vigorous sucking, which is thought to be equivalent to faster eating speed in later life (Fogel et al., 2017; Kral & Rauh, 2010). Since variation in eating behaviors among individuals emerges over early childhood and tends to persist over time (Ambrosini, 2014; Dubois et al., 2008; Hammer, 1992; Whitaker et al., 1997), researchers have recognized the importance of determining how the ability to self-regulate may be manifested in food approach and withdrawal behaviors (Fisher et al., 2003; Godefroy et al., 2016; Johnson, 2000; Kral & Rauh, 2010).
Eating behaviors are shaped at an early age, persist into adulthood, and are implicated in the development of physical health outcomes, including obesity. Faster bite speed has been identified as an obesogenic eating behavior, prompting researchers to examine child and family factors associated with children's variability in bite speed. Child temperament, involving phenotypes of reactivity and regulation, and distractions in family food contexts are fruitful areas of investigation, but few studies have examined the interplay among these factors and their associations with bite speed. To address the gap in the literature, we examined relations between early child temperament, family mealtime distractions, and children's observed bite speed. Caregiver report of child temperament at 3 months was measured using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form - Revised. Child mealtime distractions and bite speed were assessed using family mealtime videos that were collected during home visits when children were 18–24 months of age (n = 109). Results revealed that children who were reported to be higher on orienting/regulation at 3 months, and who were more distracted during mealtimes at 18–24 months, had relatively slower bite speeds. No significant interactions were found. The findings from this correlational study inform further investigations into the implications of early temperament and food contexts for the development of eating behaviors implicated in obesity risk.
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Parents also play a model role in eating (Brown & Ogden, 2004; Carper, Fisher, & Birch, 2000). Previous studies documented a familial transmission of eating behaviors, with similarities between maternal and children's eating behaviors (Jahnke & Warschburger, 2008; Kral & Rauh, 2010; Miller et al., 2020; Wardle et al., 2002; Yelverton et al., 2020). Maternal emotional eating (i.e., eating in response to emotional cues) or uncontrolled eating (i.e., the tendency to overeat when feeling hungry or when exposed to external stimuli) were found positively associated with children's emotional eating in childhood (Jahnke & Warschburger, 2008; Miller et al., 2020; Yelverton et al., 2020), with some differences by child's sex (Jahnke & Warschburger, 2008).
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^☆: Grant support: TVEK is supported by K01DK078601; EMR is supported by K01DK078601-02S2.

View full text

ReviewEating behaviors of children in the context of their family environment☆

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Obesity ‘runs in families’

High-risk design of obesity

Familial transmission of taste preferences and food selections

Conclusion

The epidemiology of obesity

Gastroenterology

Clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors among obese schoolchildren: the Taipei Children Heart Study

Am J Clin Nutr

Presence of metabolic cardiovascular syndrome in obese children

Eur J Pediatr

The relation of overweight to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Pediatrics

Overweight, fat patterning, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in black and white boys

J Pediatr

Overweight, fat patterning, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in black and white girls: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study

J Pediatr

Obesity in children and young people: a crisis in public health

Obes Rev

Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity

N Engl J Med

Influence of the home environment on the development of obesity in children

Pediatrics

Body size in five-year-old twins: heritability and comparison to singleton standards

Twin Res Hum Genet

Genetic and shared environmental influences on adolescent BMI: interactions with race and sex

Behav Genet

Evidence for independent genetic influences on fat mass and body mass index in a pediatric twin sample

Pediatrics

Genetic and environmental factors in relative body weight and human adiposity

Behav Genet

Family environmental factors influencing the developing behavioral controls of food intake and childhood overweight

Pediatr Clin North Am

Development and modification of child food preferences and eating patterns: behavior genetics strategies

Int J Obes (Lond)

Predictors of body size in the first 2 y of life: a high-risk study of human obesity

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

Energy intake, not energy output, is a determinant of body size in infants

Am J Clin Nutr

Weights of parents and infants: is there a relationship?

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

Growth of children at high risk of obesity during the first 6 y of life: implications for prevention

Am J Clin Nutr

Covert manipulation of energy density of high carbohydrate diets in ‘pseudo free-living’ humans

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

The effect of covertly manipulating the energy density of mixed diets on ad libitum food intake in ‘pseudo free-living’ humans

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

Energy density of foods affects energy intake in normal-weight women

Am J Clin Nutr

Energy density but not fat content of foods affected energy intake in lean and obese women

Am J Clin Nutr

Energy density of foods affects energy intake across multiple levels of fat content in lean and obese women

Am J Clin Nutr

Does nutrition information about the energy density of meals affect food intake in normal-weight women?

Appetite

Combined effects of energy density and portion size on energy intake in women

Am J Clin Nutr

Energy density and its role in the control of food intake: evidence from metabolic and community studies

Appetite

Reducing the energy density of multiple meals decreases the energy intake of preschool-age children

Am J Clin Nutr

Reductions in entree energy density increase children's vegetable intake and reduce energy intake

Obesity (Silver Spring)

Reducing the energy density of an entree decreases children's energy intake at lunch

J Am Diet Assoc

Effects of portion size and energy density on young children's intake at a meal

Am J Clin Nutr

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing fat and sugar intake in families at risk for childhood obesity

Obes Res

Increasing healthy eating vs. reducing high energy-dense foods to treat pediatric obesity

Obesity (Silver Spring)

Dietary energy density is associated with energy intake and weight status in US adults

Am J Clin Nutr

Dietary energy density is associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome in U.S. adults

Diabetes Care

Energy density of the diet and change in body fatness from childhood to adolescence; is there a relation?

Am J Clin Nutr

Review
Eating behaviors of children in the context of their family environment☆