Psychometric properties of a new questionnaire to assess eating in the absence of hunger in children and adolescents

Carry that weight: Parental separation and children's Body Mass Index from childhood to young adulthood

Research has shown that parental separation is associated with worse physical health and unhealthy weight gains during childhood. However, limited empirical attention has been given to the evolution of child health before, upon and following parental union dissolution. Drawing on data from the Child Development Supplement and the Transition to Adulthood Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1997-2017), I investigate whether parental union dissolution during childhood is associated with children's Body Mass Index (BMI) and the risk of developing overweight/obesity in the short and long run (n = 2675 children aged 0-12 in 1997). The results from a combination of propensity score matching and fixed-effects linear regression models show that union dissolution is associated with increases in child BMI and an increased risk of developing overweight/obesity. These changes in children's weight status persist for at least ten years after parental separation. Unhealthy weight gains following parental separation are more pronounced among female children and those with lower-educated and non-White parents. The findings suggest that in the United States parental union dissolution contributes to increase socioeconomic inequalities in child health. Therefore, children with separated parents and lower socioeconomic backgrounds have greater risks of developing overweight/obesity and other obesity-related morbidities over their life courses.

Lower subjective social status is associated with increased adiposity and self-reported eating in the absence of hunger due to negative affect among children reporting teasing distress

OBJECTIVES

Low social standing and teasing are independently associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and overeating in children. However, children with low social status may be vulnerable to teasing.

METHODS

We tested the statistical interaction of subjective social status (SSS) and subjective socioeconomic status (SSES) and teasing distress on BMI, fat mass index (FMI), and eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) in children (Mage = 13.09 years, SD = 2.50 years; 27.8% overweight/obese). Multiple linear regressions identified the main effects of self-reported SSS (compared to peers in school), distress due to teasing, and their interaction on BMI (n = 115), FMI (n = 114), and child- (n = 100) and parent-reported (n = 97) EAH.

RESULTS

Teasing distress was associated with greater BMI, FMI, and child-reported EAH due to negative affect (a subscale of EAH) and total EAH scores. There were no associations of SSS with these outcomes. However, there was an interaction between SSS and teasing distress for BMI, FMI, and EAH from negative affect such that lower SSS was associated with higher BMI, FMI, and EAH from negative affect in the presence of teasing distress. However, there were no main effects or interactions (with teasing distress) of SSES on the outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the relationship between lower SSS and increased adiposity and overeating behaviors may be exacerbated by other threats to social standing, such as teasing. Children exposed to multiple social threats may be more susceptible to eating beyond physiological need and obesity than those who experience a single form of perceived social disadvantage.

Food Insecurity, Low Household Income, and Low Education Level Increase the Risk of Having Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Among Adolescents in the United States

INTRODUCTION

In the United States, 10.2% households (HH) report child food insecurity. We assessed associations between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD) and food insecurity among the adolescents in the United States.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2018. Food insecurity was assessed by the US Department of Agriculture Child Food Security Survey Module. MASLD was defined by transient elastography.

RESULTS

Among 771 adolescents (aged 12-18 years) (mean age 14.7 years; 52.5% male; 50.9% White, 12.7% Black, 24.4% Hispanic, and 12.1% other), 9.8% reported food insecurity; MASLD prevalence of 10.12% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.13%-13.20%) affecting 4.27 million adolescents; and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence of 10.77% (95% CI 7.76-13.78) affecting 4.52 million adolescents. There was near-perfect concordance between MASLD and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (Cohen's κ coefficient of 0.971, 95% CI 0.946-0.996). The prevalence of MASLD was greater among food-insecure adolescents vs food-secure ones (17.4% vs 9.4%) and adolescents living with a low HH income vs those with a higher HH income (15.0% vs 7.2%) and living with a head of HH with a lower education level vs one with a higher education level (18.0% vs 8.2%) ( P < 0.05). The fully adjusted model showed that compared with adolescents living in a higher HH income, food-insecure adolescents living in low income HH had a 3-fold greater risk (odds ratio [OR] 3.25, 1.31-8.08) of having MASLD, while food-secure adolescents living in low-income HH had no increased risk (OR 1.58, 0.85-2.93, P = 0.139). The fully adjusted odds of having MASLD was elevated by +163% with the presence of HTN (OR 2.63, 1.02-6.78), +241% with being Hispanic (OR 3.41, 1.36-8.56), and +138% with being male (OR 2.38, 1.20-4.75). In addition, a 1-unit increase in BMI was associated with 25% increase in the odds of having MASLD (OR 1.25, 1.17-1.33) among US adolescents.

DISCUSSION

Food insecurity is associated with MASLD among US low-income adolescents especially Hispanic male individuals with obesity and hypertension. Policies addressing inequities are needed.

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the eating in the absence of hunger in children and adolescents (EAH-C)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Eating in the absence of hunger is a risk factor for excessive energy intake and predisposes children to overweight/obesity. The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the "Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (EAH-C)" in Türkiye.

METHODS

This study was conducted in a total of six schools, with children 8-18 years old between September and December 2022. Factor analysis, item-total score analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used for the validity and reliability.

RESULTS

The calculated KMO statistic was >0.60, and the Bartlett's test statistic was <0.05. The three subscales accounted for 65.22% of the total variance. Factor loads ranged from 0.41 to 0.84. The value obtained by dividing χ2 by the number of degrees of freedom was <5; the RMSEA was <0.10; the RMR was <0.08; and the TLI, GFI, AGFI, and CFI were >0.90. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.91 for the total scale.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study has confirmed that the Turkish-language version of the EAH-C is a valid and reliable tool.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

In the effort of prevention of childhood obesity, identifying eating behaviors in the absence of hunger in children and adolescents will benefit policymakers to develop intervention and prevention programs, in addition to providing guidance to pediatric nurses, all healthcare professionals, researchers, children, and parents.

Interactions of parental feeding characteristics and adolescent emotional eating in relation to unhealthful food and sugar-sweetened beverage intake among adolescents

The purpose of the current study was to examine main and interaction effects of parental feeding characteristics and adolescent emotional eating in relation to adolescents' unhealthful food and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Data was used from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study, which is an internet-administered cross-sectional study of adolescent-parent dyads. There were 1573 dyads who completed all study questionnaires. Adolescents completed measures of their emotional eating and dietary intake and parents completed items of parental feeding practices and legitimacy of parental authority. Adolescents with parents who reported higher instrumental feeding, higher limiting and legitimacy of authority, and lower role modeling and stimulus control had greater unhealthful eating and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Elevated adolescent emotional eating strengthened the positive association between parental instrumental feeding and adolescent unhealthful food and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Elevated adolescent emotional eating weakened the negative association between parental role modeling and stimulus control and adolescent sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. There was no interaction between parental role modeling and stimulus control and adolescent emotional eating for unhealthful food intake and no interaction between parental limiting and legitimacy of authority and adolescent emotional eating for unhealthful food or sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Given these findings, adolescent obesity and nutrition interventions and preventions should target both parental feeding characteristics and adolescent emotional eating.

Behavioral, psychological, and environmental predictors of weight regain in a group of successful weight losers in a widely available weight-management program

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify predictors of weight regain and continued weight maintenance among individuals already successful at long-term weight loss in a widely available weight-management program.

METHODS

Participants were 2843 weight-loss maintainers in WeightWatchers who had maintained weight loss ≥9.1 kg for ≥1 year (average 25.5 kg for 3.5 years; BMI = 26.7 kg/m2 ). Validated behavioral, psychosocial, and home environmental questionnaires were administered at study entry and 1 year later. Discriminant analysis identified variables that discriminated gainers (≥2.3-kg gain) from maintainers (±2.3-kg change).

RESULTS

Over the 1 year of follow-up, 43% were gainers (mean [SD], 7.2 [5.4] kg), and 57% were maintainers (0.4 [1.2] kg). Compared with maintainers, gainers were younger and had higher initial weight, more recent weight losses, and larger initial weight losses. Standardized canonical coefficients indicated that the 1-year changes that most discriminated gainers from maintainers were greater decreases in the ability to accept uncomfortable food cravings, urges, and desires to overeat (0.232); self-monitoring (0.166); body image (0.363); and body satisfaction (0.194) and greater increases in disinhibition (0.309) and bodily pain (0.147). The canonical correlation was 0.505 (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Future interventions to prevent regain should consider targeting overeating in response to internal and external food cues and declines in self-monitoring and body image.

Switching between foods: A potential behavioral phenotype of hedonic hunger and increased obesity risk in children

CONTEXT

Reward-based eating is a trait that increases risk for eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) and obesity. Eating behaviors such as switching more frequently between different foods may increase intake during EAH by delaying the onset of sensory-specific satiation (SSS); however, this question has not been empirically tested.

OBJECTIVES

1) Test whether switching between foods mediates the relationship between reward-based eating and EAH intake. 2) Test whether switching between foods during EAH moderates the relationship between reward-based eating and weight status.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from a study assessing decision-making in children (n = 63 children; 9.4 ± 1.4 years, 77.0 ± 22.4 BMI%tile). Reward-based eating was quantified using the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. EAH was assessed as the amount of palatable food consumed following ad libitum consumption of a standard meal. Videos of eating behavior were coded for eating time, number of different foods consumed, and food switches. Ordinary least squares regressions were conducted to test hypotheses.

RESULTS

Switching was positively associated with EAH intake for both kcal (p < 0.01) and grams (p < 0.01) such that each additional switch was associated with an increased intake of 17.0 kcal or 3.5 gs. Switching mediated the relationship between reward-based eating and EAH (p < 0.01) such that more frequent switching fully accounted for the positive association between reward-based eating and EAH (ps < 0.01). While reward-based eating was also positively associated with weight status (p < 0.01), this association was moderated by food switching (p < 0.01) such that the relationship was stronger for children who switch more frequently (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Frequent switching between foods was positively associated with EAH intake and mediated the relationship between reward-based eating and EAH. Moreover, reward-based eating was more strongly related to weight status in children who switched more frequently. Thus, food switching may contribute to overconsumption and be an important behavioral indicator of increased obesity risk in children. Studies across multiple meals and contexts will help determine if switching is a reliable behavioral phenotype.

Designing a childhood obesity preventive intervention using the multiphase optimization strategy: The Healthy Bodies Project

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Preventing the development of childhood obesity requires multilevel, multicomponent, comprehensive approaches. Study designs often do not allow for systematic evaluation of the efficacy of individual intervention components before the intervention is fully tested. As such, childhood obesity prevention programs may contain a mix of effective and ineffective components. This article describes the design and rationale of a childhood obesity preventive intervention developed using the multiphase optimization strategy, an engineering-inspired framework for optimizing behavioral interventions. Using a series of randomized experiments, the objective of the study was to systematically test, select, and refine candidate components to build an optimized childhood obesity preventive intervention to be evaluated in a subsequent randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

A 24 full factorial design was used to test the individual and combined effects of four candidate intervention components intended to reduce the risk for childhood obesity. These components were designed with a focus on (a) improving children's healthy eating behaviors and nutrition knowledge, (b) increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary activity in the childcare setting, (c) improving children's behavioral self-regulation, and (d) providing parental web-based education to address child target outcomes. The components were tested with approximately 1400 preschool children, ages 3-5 years in center-based childcare programs in Pennsylvania, the majority of which served predominantly Head-Start eligible households. Primary child outcomes included healthy eating knowledge, physical and sedentary activity, and behavioral self-regulation. Secondary outcomes included children's body mass index and appetitive traits related to appetite regulation.

RESULTS

Four intervention components were developed, including three classroom curricula designed to increase preschool children's nutrition knowledge, physical activity, and behavioral, emotional, and eating regulation. A web-based parent education component included 18 lessons designed to improve parenting practices and home environments that would bolster the effects of the classroom curricula. A plan for analyzing the specific contribution of each component to a larger intervention was developed and is described. The efficacy of the four components can be evaluated to determine the extent to which they, individually and in combination, produce detectable changes in childhood obesity risk factors. The resulting optimized intervention should later be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial, which may provide new information on promising targets for obesity prevention in young children.

CONCLUSION

This research project highlights the ways in which an innovative approach to the design and initial evaluation of preventive interventions may increase the likelihood of long-term success. The lessons from this research project have implications for childhood obesity research as well as other preventive interventions that include multiple components, each targeting unique contributors to a multifaceted problem.

Psychosocial correlates in patterns of adolescent emotional eating and dietary consumption

Unhealthy eating behaviors, such as consumption of unhealthy diet and emotional eating, are common in adolescence and tend to co-occur. However, how these behaviors are patterned may vary among adolescents. This study identified patterns of dietary consumption and emotional eating behaviors in adolescents and examined the sociodemographic and psychosocial (e.g., self-efficacy beliefs and motivation) covariates associated with these eating patterns. Data were from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating study. Latent class analysis was used to estimate adolescent dietary patterns from dietary consumption (i.e., fruits, vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, junk food, etc.) and emotional eating variables (i.e., eating when feeling sad or anxious). The sample included 1,568 adolescents (Mean age = 14.48-years-old, 49% girls, 55% White). A four-class solution best fit the data (e.g., Bayesian Information Criteria [BIC] = 12263.568, three-class model BIC = 12271.622). Four unhealthy eating behavior patterns were identified: poor diet/high emotional eating, mixed diet/high emotional eating, poor diet/low emotional eating, and mixed diet/low emotional eating. Compared to the poor diet/high emotional eating group, the other groups were less likely to include older adolescents, girls, and adolescents who experienced food insecurity, and more likely to have higher self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables and limiting junk foods as well as motivation for consuming fruits and vegetables and limiting junk foods. Our findings highlight adolescents' complex dietary patterns that include dietary consumption and emotional eating behaviors. Future studies should examine other potential dietary patterns that include emotional eating. Efforts to address unhealthy patterns of adolescents' dietary consumption and emotional eating behaviors should be expanded.

Modified cue exposure for adolescents with binge eating behaviour: study protocol of a randomised pilot trial called EXI(ea)T

INTRODUCTION

Binge eating (BE) behaviour is highly prevalent in adolescents, and can result in serious metabolic derangements and overweight in the long term. Weakened functioning of the behavioural inhibition system is one potential pathway leading to BE. Food cue exposure focusing on expectancy violation (CE_EV) is a short intervention for BE that has proven effective in adults but has never been tested in adolescents. Thus, the current randomised pilot trial evaluates the feasibility of CE_EV for adolescents and its efficacy in reducing eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) of binge food items.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The trial will include N=76 female adolescents aged between 13 and 20 years with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder (BED) or their subthreshold forms based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Participants will be randomly assigned to two sessions of CE_EV or behavioural analysis (BA), a classical cognitive-behavioural therapy-based intervention. The primary endpoint is the change in EAH measured according to ad libitum consumption of personally preferred binge food in a bogus taste test at post-test based on the intention-to-treat population. Key secondary endpoints are changes in EAH of standardised binge food at post-test, in EAH at 3-month follow-up (FU) and in food craving after induction of food cue reactivity at post-test and FU. To identify further valid outcome parameters, we will assess effects of CE_EV compared with BA on global ED psychopathology, BE frequency within the last 28 days, body weight, response inhibition and emotion regulation abilities. Treatment groups will be compared using analysis of covariance with intervention as fixed factor and body mass index at baseline as covariate.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This clinical trial has been approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Medical Association of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Medical Faculty of the Ruhr-University Bochum. The collected data will be disseminated locally and internationally through publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals and will be presented at scientific and clinical conferences. Participants data will only be published in an anonymised form.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

DRKS00024009.

Measurement is the foundation of research and theory on children's eating behaviours: Current issues and directions for progress

Eating behaviours affect food intakes and are involved in the aetiology of obesity. There has been impetus to translate findings about children's eating behaviour into intervention and policy programs. However, measurement limitations have hindered our capacity to understand and influence children's eating behaviours. In the present paper we provide an overview of some of the key methodological and measurement issues facing the field of children's eating behaviours and highlight implications for research and health promotion. Drawing on insight from parallel issues that occur in the measurement of early social and emotional development, we examine two overlapping themes in children's (aged 0-∼12 years) eating behaviours (Somaraki et al., 2021) measurement issues related to validity and reliability, and (Steinsbekk & Wichstrøm, 2015) associated methodological challenges, such as contextual influences and the importance of designing studies that use multiple informants and multiple methods. We then suggest insights and strategies aimed at advancing approaches to measurement of children's eating behaviours. To progress our understanding of children's eating behaviours, we conclude that a range of psychometrically sound, fit-for-purpose measurement instruments and procedures are needed for use in multi-trait, multi-method, multi-informant studies in a range of populations and contexts.

Eating Behavior and Obesity in a Sample of Spanish Schoolchildren

From the point of view of prevention, it is convenient to explore the association between eating behavior and the obese phenotype during school and adolescent age. The aim of the present study was to identify eating behavior patterns associated with nutritional status in Spanish schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study of 283 boys and girls (aged 6 to 16 years) was carried out. The sample was evaluated anthropometrically by Body Mass Index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body fat percentage (%BF). Eating behavior was analyzed using the CEBQ "Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire". The subscales of the CEBQ were significantly associated with BMI, WHtR and %BF. Pro-intake subscales (enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, emotional overeating, desire for drinks) were positively related to excess weight by BMI (β = 0.812 to 0.869; p = 0.002 to <0.001), abdominal obesity (β = 0.543-0.640; p = 0.02 to <0.009) and high adiposity (β = 0.508 to 0.595; p = 0.037 to 0.01). Anti-intake subscales (satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, food fussiness) were negatively related to BMI (β = -0.661 to -0.719; p = 0.009 to 0.006) and % BF (β = -0.17 to -0.46; p = 0.042 to p = 0.016).

Development and validation of the food cue responsivity scale

Food cues are ubiquitous in today's environment; however, there is heterogeneity as to the extent to which these cues impact eating behavior among individuals. This study examines the validity and reliability of the Food Cue Responsivity Scale (FCRS) to assess responsivity to distinct types of food cues. Items gathered from existing measures were combined in the FCRS to reflect two subdomains, uncontrolled eating behavior and cognitive rumination. The criterion validity of the FCRS was established using a paradigm that assesses psychophysiological responsivity to a craved food among adults with overweight or obesity. Higher overall FCRS scores were associated with greater physiological responsivity to food exposures. These findings may help identify specific phenotypes of individuals with overweight or obesity with high responsivity to food cues, which could be used to understand overeating and response to weight-loss programs.

Measuring adolescents' eating in the absence of hunger in the home environment using subjective and objective measures

Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) has been identified as a behavioral phenotype for obesity. Few studies have reported on objective measures of EAH in adolescents, and fewer yet have objectively measured EAH in a naturalistic, home setting. The purpose of this paper was to examine relations between objective, adolescent-report and parent-report measures of EAH, and to examine variation by sex and race. Participants included 295 predominantly low-income and rural adolescents (mean age = 14.2 ± 0.6 years) and their parents, drawn from the Family Life Project. An EAH task was administered in the home following an ad-libitum meal and compulsory milkshake; EAH was also reported on a web-based survey (both adolescent and parent reports) and adolescents' BMIz was calculated from height and weight, measured in the home or self-reported on the web survey. A high degree of variability in EAH intake was observed (range = 8-741 kcals). Parent and adolescent reports of EAH were weakly correlated and unrelated to observed EAH consumption; only adolescent reports of EAH were related to their BMIz. Several relations varied by sex and race. Positive associations between reported and observed EAH was only observed in girls, and positive associations between observed EAH and BMI was only observed in boys and in white adolescents. Overall EAH consumption was significantly greater in boys and in white adolescents. These findings suggest that EAH can be measured in adolescents in the home. In this sample of youth experiencing rural poverty, this home-based measure appears most valid for white adolescent girls.

Validation of the illustrated questionnaire on eating and sedentary behaviors (QUICAS) for seven to ten-year-old children

The Illustrated Questionnaire on Eating and Sedentary Behaviors (QUICAS) was developed and validated for schoolchildren seven to ten years old. It used previous day recall and was illustrated with ten eating behaviors (referring to the act of eating without distractions, with company, on a regular basis, the type of food eaten, and participation in tasks involved in meal preparation) and five sedentary behaviors (related to the use of television, computer, tablet, cell phone, and video game). The instrument was validated in four stages: (1) Its content was developed based on literature review and expert evaluation; (2) Items were validated by comparing the responses of children and their parents, through a questionnaire on Google Forms. At this stage, a convenience sample was adopted, consisting of 145 parent-child dyads. High sensitivity (average of 90.7%); high specificity (mean of 87.9%); low number of false positives (mean of 12.1%); low number of false negatives (mean of 9.3%); almost perfect agreement between the child's and the parent's reports (k = 0.81); and low disagreement (≤22%) were found. In addition, the child's gender and age did not significantly influence the child's report. (3) The illustrations were validated in a focus group with 18 children, who satisfactorily described all the eating and sedentary behaviors of the illustrations. (4) In the pretest of the questionnaire on Google Forms, with the participation of 15 children, the majority (86.7%) judged the questionnaire as excellent or good. Therefore, the QUICAS is valid to assess eating and sedentary behaviors in schoolchildren seven to ten years old.

Psychometric properties of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire in treatment-seeking adults with overweight and obesity

Understanding eating behaviors that contribute to overweight and obesity (OW/OB) is an important public health objective. One eating behavior known to contribute to overeating is eating in the absence of hunger (EAH). The Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire for Children was developed to assess external events and internal experiences that lead children to overeat. Despite the measure's adaptation for use with adults (i.e., EAH-A), its psychometric properties within this population have not been explored. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the EAH-A in sample of 311 treatment-seeking adults with OW/OB (mean BMI = 34.5 [5.1]; mean age = 46.3 [12.1]; 81.7% female; 20.6% Latinx, 59.2% white). The EAH-A contains 14 items and assesses three domains: negative affect eating (EAH-NAE), external eating, and fatigue/boredom eating, through two parallel sets of items assessing initiating EAH and continuing EAH. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed with promax rotation and maximum likelihood factor extraction. Results supported a unitary factor of EAH, with scale responses driven by EAH-NAE items. Results may be explained in part by scale structure and domain imbalance favoring EAH-NAE items, or the true internal structure of EAH may consist of a singular latent construct. Follow-up analyses indicated redundancy of the scale's parallel sections. If researchers are primarily interested in EAH-NAE, only the three "start eating" or "keep eating" items may be needed. This study highlights the importance of validating the psychometric properties of a measure within intended populations to ensure interpretations are valid.

Factors Associated with Eating in the Absence of Hunger among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) has been extensively studied over the past two decades and has been associated with excess body weight and the development of obesity. However, determinants of EAH remain uncertain. This systematic review aims to identify individual, familial, and environmental factors associated with EAH among children and adolescents. We included studies with a measure of EAH in participants aged 3-17 years old and including ≥1 factor associated with EAH. Our search identified 1494 articles. Of these, we included 81 studies: 53 cross-sectional, 19 longitudinal and nine intervention studies. In childhood (≤12 years old), EAH increases with age, it is greater in boys compared to girls, and it is positively associated with adiposity. Moreover, EAH development seems to be influenced by genetics. In adolescence, the number of studies is limited; yet, studies show that EAH slightly increases or remains stable with age, is not clearly different between sexes, and findings for overweight or obesity are less consistent across studies in adolescence. For familial factors, parental restrictive feeding practices are positively associated with EAH during childhood, mostly for girls. Studies assessing environmental factors are lacking and robust longitudinal studies spanning from early childhood to adolescence are needed.

Intergenerational Determinants of Weight Status Concordance and Discordance in Parent/Adolescent Dyads from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study

Background: Studies have shown that obesity (OB) has strong intergenerational linkages and tends to cluster in families, but there is a dearth of research examining the socioecological factors predictive of weight status concordance and discordance among parents and adolescents. Methods: We ran a stepwise multinomial logistic regression to assess for sociodemographic, individual-, and family-level predictors of four dyadic weight status groups using data from 1516 parent/adolescent dyads from the National Cancer Institute's Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study. We categorized parent/adolescent dyads into one of four groups based on their BMI: (1) Healthy Weight Concordance (i.e., both parent and adolescent in the normal weight range); (2) overweight (OW)/OB Concordance (i.e., both parent and adolescent with OW or OB); (3) Discordance-Parent OW/OB (i.e., parent with OW/OB and adolescent in the normal weight range); or (4) Discordance-Adolescent OW/OB (i.e., adolescent with OW/OB and parent in the normal weight range). Results: There were 475 parent/adolescent dyads (31.3%) in the Healthy Weight Concordance group, 351 (23.2%) in the OW/OB Concordance group, 604 (39.8%) in the Discordance-Parent OW/OB group, and 86 (5.7%) in the Discordance-Adolescent OW/OB group. Being from a low socioeconomic family, identifying as a minority, and identifying as a male parent were associated with an OW/OB dyadic BMI. Higher levels of adolescent and parent emotional eating were significantly associated with parent/adolescent dyads being in the OW/OB Concordance group. Parent emotional eating was also associated with Discordance-Parent OW/OB. In contrast, parents' and adolescents' physical activity self-efficacy was associated with a Healthy Weight dyadic BMI vs. OW/OB Concordance or Discordance-Parent OW/OB. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the strength of OW/OB concordance in families, especially among lower socioeconomic and ethnic minority families and the significance of emotional eating and physical activity self-efficacy in contributing to BMI patterns among parents and adolescents.

Application of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy in treating common psychiatric disorders: study protocol for a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a well-known intervention for treating borderline personality disorder, and has been increasingly adapted for other disorders. Standard DBT consists of four treatment modes, delivered over a year. Adaptations to DBT include changes to modes of delivery, treatment length, and skills modules taught to clients, or incorporating interventions from other evidence-based therapies. There is a need to synthesise existing evidence on DBT so that stakeholders-clinicians, researchers and policymakers-can understand how it has been provided for various psychiatric conditions, and whether it has been effective.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study proposes a scoping review conducted according to Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) procedures, to map and summarise the literature on DBT interventions for treating a range of psychiatric concerns. Electronic databases (ie, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, EBSCOhost and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses), conference proceedings and the US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trial Register will be searched for intervention studies that involve a control or comparison group, and that report quantitative data on pre/post-measures for psychiatric symptom severity. The initial search was conducted on 18 September 2020, and data charting has not commenced. An update will be performed in September 2022, pending this protocol's publication. Data charting will collect individual studies' characteristics, methodology and reported findings. Outcomes will be reported by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for Scoping Reviews.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

No ethical approval is required for this study. The goal of dissemination is to keep DBT stakeholders abreast on latest updates in clinical applications of DBT. Findings from this research are intended to inform a more specific topic of study (eg, a meta-analysis), to further aid in the development of DBT interventions for psychiatric populations.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

The study protocol was pre-registered with the Open Science Framework on 24 August 2021 (https://osf.io/vx6gw).

Management of eating disorders for people with higher weight: clinical practice guideline

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence of eating disorders is high in people with higher weight. However, despite this, eating disorders experienced by people with higher weight have been consistently under-recognised and under-treated, and there is little to guide clinicians in the management of eating disorders in this population.

AIM

The aim of this guideline is to synthesise the current best practice approaches to the management of eating disorders in people with higher weight and make evidence-based clinical practice recommendations.

METHODS

The National Eating Disorders Collaboration Steering Committee auspiced a Development Group for a Clinical Practice Guideline for the treatment of eating disorders for people with higher weight. The Development Group followed the 'Guidelines for Guidelines' process outlined by the National Health and Medical Research Council and aim to meet their Standards to be: 1. relevant and useful for decision making; 2. transparent; 3. overseen by a guideline development group; 4. identifying and managing conflicts of interest; 5. focused on health and related outcomes; 6. evidence informed; 7. making actionable recommendations; 8. up-to-date; and, 9. accessible. The development group included people with clinical and/or academic expertise and/or lived experience. The guideline has undergone extensive peer review and consultation over an 18-month period involving reviews by key stakeholders, including experts and organisations with clinical academic and/or lived experience.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Twenty-one clinical recommendations are made and graded according to the National Health and Medical Research Council evidence levels. Strong recommendations were supported for psychological treatment as a first-line treatment approach adults (with bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder), adolescents and children. Clinical considerations such as weight stigma, interprofessional collaborative practice and cultural considerations are also discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

This guideline will fill an important gap in the need to better understand and care for people experiencing eating disorders who also have higher weight. This guideline acknowledges deficits in knowledge and consequently the reliance on consensus and lower levels of evidence for many recommendations, and the need for research particularly evaluating weight-neutral and other more recent approaches in this field.

Food cue reactivity: Neurobiological and behavioral underpinnings

The modern obesogenic environment contains an abundance of food cues (e.g., sight, smell of food) as well cues that are associated with food through learning and memory processes. Food cue exposure can lead to food seeking and excessive consumption in otherwise food-sated individuals, and a high level of food cue responsivity is a risk factor for overweight and obesity. Similar food cue responses are observed in experimental rodent models, and these models are therefore useful for mechanistically identifying the neural circuits mediating food cue responsivity. This review draws from both experimental rodent models and human data to characterize the behavioral and biological processes through which food-associated stimuli contribute to overeating and weight gain. Two rodent models are emphasized - cue-potentiated feeding and Pavlovian-instrumental transfer - that provide insight in the neural circuits and peptide systems underlying food cue responsivity. Data from humans are highlighted that reveal physiological, psychological, and neural mechanisms that connect food cue responsivity with overeating and weight gain. The collective literature identifies connections between heightened food cue responsivity and obesity in both rodents and humans, and identifies underlying brain regions (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus) and endocrine systems (ghrelin) that regulate food cue responsivity in both species. These species similarities are encouraging for the possibility of mechanistic rodent model research and further human research leading to novel treatments for excessive food cue responsivity in humans.

A synthesis of early antecedents of eating behavior and weight status in girls: The legacy of girls' NEEDS project

Dr. Leann Birch, an innovator in the field of children's eating behavior, was the first scientist to synergize the fields of developmental psychology and nutrition science. One of Leann's groundbreaking projects was the Girls' NEEDS Project (GNP), an NIH-funded observational study of the longitudinal development of eating and weight-related behaviors of girls across middle childhood and adolescence. At the time of GNP, obesity prevalence during childhood had roughly doubled during the previous two decades, research interest in dieting had increased as societal expectations of the 'thin ideal' got even thinner, and little was known about how environmental factors such as parenting influenced the development of maladaptive eating and weight-related behaviors. GNP resulted in over 70 publications, covering a range of topics from girls' dietary intake and physical activity to parental influences on girls' eating behavior, thus laying the groundwork for many topics in the obesity, food parenting, and dieting literature today. Therefore, this narrative review aims to summarize and synthesize the literature that resulted from the GNP and provide implications for future work building from this foundation.

Family meals, positive versus negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating: examining adolescent-parent dyadic associations

PURPOSE

The present study aimed to extend existing research by examining adolescent-parent dyadic associations among adaptive and maladaptive family meal characteristics, positive and negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating.

METHOD

Participants included a community-based sample of adolescents and parents (N = 1646 dyads) who participated in the National Cancer Institute's Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study. Dyad members both completed measures assessing family meal characteristics (family meal importance beliefs, family mealtime television watching), emotion suppression, and emotional eating via online surveys. Actor-partner interdependence models were used to examine dyadic associations among the assessed family meal characteristics, positive and negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating.

RESULTS

Multiple within-person (e.g., adolescent-adolescent, parent-parent), cross-dyad member (e.g., adolescent-parent, parent-adolescent), and divergent adolescent versus parent dyadic effects were identified that differed based on the extent to which participants suppressed positive versus negative affect. For example, whereas adolescents' stronger beliefs in the importance of frequent family meals were associated with lower levels of their own suppression of positive emotions and, in turn, lower levels of both their own and their parents' emotional eating, these mediational associations were only identified at the within-person (not cross-dyad member) level among parents.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, these findings attest to the complexity of associations among the assessed risk and protective family meal characteristics, the suppression of differentially valenced emotions, and emotional eating that manifest at the adolescent-parent dyadic level. Findings also support the continued use of a family-based perspective to further the understanding of factors that are associated with emotional eating.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

A comparison of negative affect and disinhibited eating between children with and without parents with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Children whose parents have type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at high-risk for developing T2D. In youth, negative affect has been shown to predict insulin resistance (IR), and disinhibited-eating behaviors have been linked to IR. It is unknown if youth with a parent with T2D (P-T2D) report greater psychological and behavioral symptoms than those without a P-T2D.

OBJECTIVE

To compare youth with and without a P-T2D on symptoms of negative affect and disinhibited-eating.

METHODS

Nine-hundred thirty-two youth (13.3 ± 2.6 years; BMIz 1.06 ± 1.06; 67.8% female; 53.6% people of color; 10.7% with a P-T2D) completed questionnaires of anxiety and depressive symptoms, eating in the absence of hunger, and emotional-eating. Loss-of-control (LOC)-eating was assessed by interview. In two separate subsamples, energy intake was explored using laboratory test meals simulating eating in the absence of hunger and LOC-eating, respectively. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity. In follow-up analyses, fat mass (kg) and height, and IR were included as covariates, respectively.

RESULTS

Adjusting for all covariates including adiposity and IR, compared to youth without a P-T2D, youth with a P-T2D reported more anxiety and depression symptoms, greater eating in the absence of hunger, and emotional-eating (ps < 0.05). No significant differences were found for LOC-eating, or in exploratory analyses of energy intake for either test meal (ps > 0.16).

CONCLUSIONS

Self-reported negative affect and disinhibited-eating may be higher among youth with P-T2D compared to those without P-T2D. Prospective studies should examine, among those with a P-T2D, what role such symptoms may play for their subsequent risk for T2D.

Associations Between Independent Assessments of Child Appetite Self-Regulation: A Narrative Review

A variety of eating behaviors among children have been associated with obesity risk and are thought to broadly reflect child appetite self-regulation (ASR). While ASR is thought to occur on cognitive, emotional, motivational, biological, and behavioral levels, the inter-relatedness of ASR constructs as assessed by different methods/measures is not well-characterized. This narrative review describes the correspondence between different methods/measures of child ASR constructs as assessed by self-report questionnaires and/or observational tasks and their relationship to child standardized body mass index (BMIz). Research involving at least two different methods/measures is presented including observational tasks such as the Eating in the Absence of Hunger task, compensation trials, and eating rate, as well as various child eating behavior self-report questionnaires. Keyword searches in the PubMed and PsycINFO databases for articles published between 2000 and July 2021 identified 21,042 articles. Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria and examined at least two of the targeted measures. Studies comparing questionnaire data with other questionnaire data showed the most evidence of significant associations (r values ranging from −0.45 to 0.49), whereas studies comparing questionnaires with observational tasks mostly showed weak (r values ranging from −0.17 to 0.19) or not significant associations, with only few studies finding moderate associations (r values ranging from −0.38 to 0.33). Studies comparing different observational tasks showed no significant associations. Overall, studies comparing self-report questionnaires showed the most correspondence, whereas those comparing observational tasks showed no correspondence. Studies across methods (questionnaires with tasks) showed less correspondence. Significant associations were found between ASR constructs and child BMIz across five studies using self-report questionnaires and two studies using observational tasks. Future research is needed to clearly define the various ASR constructs, their expected correspondence, and the strength of that correspondence, as well as the relations between ASR constructs and child weight among youth with and without overweight/obesity.

Validation of a Classroom Version of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger Paradigm in Preschoolers

Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), a measure of children's propensity to eat beyond satiety in the presence of highly palatable food, has been associated with childhood obesity and later binge eating behavior. The EAH task is typically conducted in a research laboratory setting, which is resource intensive and lacks ecological validity. Assessing EAH in a group classroom setting is feasible and may be a more efficient alternative, but the validity of the classroom assessment against the traditional individually-administered paradigm has not been tested. The objective of this study was to compare EAH measured in a classroom setting to the one-on-one version of the paradigm in a sample of Head Start preschoolers. Children (n = 35) from three classrooms completed both classroom and individual EAH tasks in a random, counterbalanced order. In the group condition, children sat with peers at their classroom lunch tables; in the individual condition, children met individually with a researcher in a separate area near their classroom. In both conditions, following a meal, children were provided free access to generous portions of six snack foods (~750 kcal) and a selection of toys for 7 min. Snacks were pre- and post-weighed to calculate intake. Parents completed a survey of their child's eating behaviors, and child height and weight were measured. Paired t-tests and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to compare energy intake between conditions, and correlations between EAH intake and child BMI, eating behaviors, and parent feeding practices were examined to evaluate concurrent validity. Average intake was 63.0 ± 50.4 kcal in the classroom setting and 53.7 ± 44.6 in the individual setting, with no significant difference between settings. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.57, indicating moderate agreement between conditions. Overall, the EAH protocol appears to perform similarly in classroom and individual settings, suggesting the classroom protocol is a valid alternative. Future studies should further examine the role of age, sex, and weight status on eating behavior measurement paradigms.

The complicated relationship among parent and child disinhibited eating behaviors

Disinhibited eating behaviors (e.g., loss of control eating (LOC) and eating in the absence of hunger (EAH)) contribute to overeating and obesity. This study aimed to evaluate whether these traits are related in parent-child dyads and how the reporter of child eating behavior (parent or child) impacts this relationship. Two-hundred and ninety treatment-seeking children, ages 8-13, with overweight or obesity (BMI percentile for age and sex 85-99.9%) and their parents were included. LOC and EAH were assessed by child report for self, parent report for self, and parent report for child. Parent and child disinhibited eating behaviors were related only when parents reported on both their own and their child's eating behaviors (p-values < 0.04). Child report of LOC and EAH for self was not associated with parent report of LOC and EAH for self (p-values > 0.05). There was a significant interaction between parent's EAH and BMI as it related to parent report of child EAH (B = 0.02; SE = 0.005; p = 0.004) such that parents with lower BMI reported their own EAH to be lower than parents with higher BMI, but parent report of child EAH was similar regardless of the parent's BMI. Disinhibited eating behaviors were related only when a single parent reported on both their own and their child's behavior, suggesting a potential reporting bias. Given that the relation between parent and child disinhibited eating behaviors varies based on who is reporting the child's behavior, it may be important to consider both parent and child report when designing research studies or in clinical settings while also recognizing potential reporting biases.

Parent-Child influences on child eating self-regulation and weight in early childhood: A systematic review

Individual differences in child eating self-regulation are associated with excess weight gain and may be explained, in part, by the family feeding environment and a child's general propensity to self-regulate outside of the context of eating (i.e., general self-regulation). Several studies have examined the associations between food parenting behaviors, child eating and general self-regulation, and child weight separately. However, there are a paucity of data on whether and how these factors interact to confer risk for weight gain in early childhood. The current systematic review identified 32 longitudinal studies that examined unidirectional or bidirectional associations among one or more of the following paths: food parenting behaviors and child eating self-regulation (path 1); child eating self-regulation and child weight (path 2); child eating self-regulation and child general self-regulation (path 3); food parenting behaviors and child general self-regulation (path 4); and child general self-regulation and child weight (path 5). Results indicated relationships of food parenting behaviors to child eating self-regulation, child weight to child eating self-regulation, and child general self-regulation to child weight. However, there were scant longitudinal data that examined paths 3 and 4. Further research on the developmental correlates of child eating self-regulation is needed to identify parent and child targets for early childhood obesity prevention.

Factors associated with food choice among long-term weight loss maintainers

Background

The present study aimed to examine motivations for food choice among long‐term weight loss maintainers (WLM) in a widely used commercial weight management program.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was employed where determinants of food choice were measured in the USA using validated scales: Food Choice Questionnaire, Consideration of Future Consequences, and Eating in the Absence of Hunger. Participants were 3806 WLM following a commercial weight management program (WW International, Inc.) who had maintained a weight loss ≥ 9.1 kg (mean 24.7 kg) for 3.3 years and had a body mass index (BMI) of 27.6 kg m². A control group of weight stable individuals with obesity (controls; n = 519) had a BMI of 38.9 kg m² and a weight change < 2.3 kg over the previous 5 years.

Results

WLM vs. controls made food decisions more based on health (18.9 vs. 16.3; η_p² = 0.052) and weight control (9.9 vs. 7.5; η_p² = 0.16) and less based on price (8.4 vs. 9.1; η_p² = 0.10). WLM also scored higher than controls with respect to considering future consequences of behaviours (44.3 vs. 38.4; η_p² = 0.060) and reported less external eating in the absence of hunger (7.1 vs. 7.5; η_p² = 0.058). Standard canonical coefficients indicated that making food choices based on weight (0.717) with less value placed on price (−0.33) and greater consideration of future consequences (0.262) contributed independently and most (overall r = 0.593; p = 0.0001) to discriminating WLM from controls.

Conclusions

In a widely used commercial weight management program, successful WLM reported food decisions based more on weight and less on price and considered future consequences of current behaviours.

Long‐term weight loss maintainers consume a diet that is low in calories and micronutrient rich, although the diverse factors that govern these food choices remain unclear.

The present study examined diverse factors associated with food choice among weight loss maintainers in a widely used commercial weight management program (WW International, Inc.) compared to weight stable individuals with obesity (“controls”).

Weight loss maintainers more than controls made food decisions based on health and weight control and less based on price. Both groups scored similarly in the role of convenience, mood, sensory appeal, natural content, familiarity and ethical concerns.

Weight loss maintainers were overall more likely to consider future consequences.

In a widely used commercial weight management program (WW International, Inc.), successful weight loss maintainers reported food decisions based more on weight and health and less on price. They also considered future consequences of current behaviours.

Young Children's Eating in the Absence of Hunger: Links With Child Inhibitory Control, Child BMI, and Maternal Controlling Feeding Practices

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the associations between young children’s eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), inhibitory control, body mass index (BMI) and several maternal controlling feeding practices (food as reward, restriction for health, restriction for weight control). In addition, to more properly assess the relationship between children’s and maternal variables, the link between EAH and restriction was explored separately in two directionalities: “child to parent” or “parent to child.” To do this, mothers of 621 children aged 2.00–6.97years (51% boys, M=4.11years, SD=1.34) filled in a questionnaire with items from validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed, whatever the directionality considered, a positive association between children’s eating in the absence of hunger and their BMI z-scores. Restriction for health and restriction for weight control were differently linked to EAH and to children’s BMI z-scores. Namely, low child inhibitory control, food as reward and restriction for health were identified as risk factors for EAH. Restriction for weight control was not linked to EAH, but was predicted by child BMI z-scores. Interventions aiming to improve children’s abilities to self-regulate food intake could consider training children’s general self-regulation, their self-regulation of intake, and/or promoting adaptive parental feeding practices.

Eating in the absence of hunger in children with mild sleep loss: a randomized crossover trial with learning effects

BACKGROUND

While insufficient sleep duration has emerged as a strong, independent risk factor for obesity, the mechanisms remain unclear. One possibility is greater "eating in the absence of hunger" (EAH) or energy intake beyond the point of satiety, when tired.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to determine whether mild sleep loss increases EAH in children.

METHODS

A crossover study was undertaken in 105 healthy children (8-12 y) with normal sleep (∼8-11 h/night). After randomization, children went to bed 1 h earlier (sleep extension) or 1 h later (sleep restriction) than their usual bedtime, over 2 intervention weeks separated by a 1-wk washout. At the end of each intervention week, children underwent an EAH feeding experiment involving a preloading meal until satiation, followed by an ad libitum buffet (of highly palatable snacks) to measure EAH, with each food item weighed before and after consumption.

RESULTS

Ninety-three children completed the EAH experiment. There was no evidence of a difference in energy intake from EAH between sleep restriction and extension conditions when analyzed as a crossover design. However, a learning effect was found, with children eating significantly less (-239 kJ; 95% CI: -437, -41 kJ; P = 0.018) during the preload phase and significantly more (181 kJ; 95% CI: 38, 322 kJ; P = 0.013) in the ad libitum phase in the second week. No significant differences were seen using an underpowered parallel analysis for energy intake during the ad libitum phase when sleep deprived (106 kJ; 95% CI: -217, 431 kJ; P = 0.514).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that measuring a difference in eating behavior in relation to sleep proved unsuitable using the EAH experiment in a crossover design in children, due to a learning effect. This trial was registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (http://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=367587&isReview=true) as ACTRN12618001671257 .

The effects of puberty on associations between mood/personality factors and disordered eating symptoms in girls

OBJECTIVE

Negative and positive urgency, anxiety, and depressive symptoms are significant factors of disordered eating (DE) symptoms in early adolescence through young adulthood. However, it is unclear how puberty-a critical developmental milestone that is associated with increased risk for DE symptoms-affects the relationship between these factors and DE symptoms, given that the role of pubertal status has rarely been considered in relation to these associations. Thus, the present study examined whether puberty moderates associations between mood/personality factors and DE in pre-adolescent and adolescent girls.

METHOD

Participants included 981 girls (aged 8-16 years) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Mood/personality factors, pubertal status, and DE were assessed with self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS

Puberty significantly moderated associations between several factors (negative urgency, positive urgency, trait anxiety, depressive symptoms) and the cognitive symptoms of DE (e.g., shape/weight concerns, body dissatisfaction). Associations between mood/personality factors and cognitive DE were stronger in girls with more advanced pubertal status. By contrast, no significant moderation effects were detected for mood/personality-dysregulated eating (e.g., binge eating, emotional eating) associations.

DISCUSSION

Findings identify pubertal development as an important moderator of mood/personality-DE symptom associations, especially for cognitive DE symptoms that are known to predict the later onset of clinical pathology.

Regulatory parental feeding behaviors, emotion suppression, and emotional eating in the absence of hunger: Examining parent-adolescent dyadic associations

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to improve the understanding of inter- and intrapersonal processes implicated in emotional eating using a large community sample of parent-adolescent dyads.

METHOD

Participants included 1823 parent and adolescent dyads who completed the National Cancer Institute's Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study. Parents and adolescents each completed measures assessing parents' feeding behaviors, and participants' own emotional functioning and eating behaviors. Actor-partner interdependence models examined dyadic associations among participants' reports of parents' regulatory feeding behaviors (allowing adolescents to eat for emotional comfort purposes, controlling adolescents' "junk" food/sugary drink intakes), emotion suppression, and emotional eating in the absence of hunger.

RESULTS

Multiple within-person, cross-dyad member, and divergent parent versus adolescent dyadic effects were identified that differed based on the parental feeding behavior that parents and adolescents reported on. For example, adolescents' reports that their parents regulate their "junk" food/sugary drink intakes were associated with lower levels of their own emotion suppression and, in turn, lower levels of both their own and their parents' emotional eating, whereas parents' reports that they regulate their adolescents' "junk" food/sugary drink intakes were associated with higher levels of their own emotion suppression and emotional eating.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings underscore the complex interconnectivity among parental feeding behaviors, emotion dysregulation, and emotional eating within the parent-adolescent dyadic context, and support the use of preventive disordered eating interventions focused on enhancing healthy parent feeding behaviors and adaptive emotion regulation skills from a family-based perspective.

Bridging executive function and disinhibited eating among youth: A network analysis

OBJECTIVE

Poorer executive function (EF) has been linked to disinhibited eating in youth, suggesting poor EF predisposes toward obesity, yet the specific nature and extent of interconnections between facets of these domains is unclear. Network analysis provides a promising framework for elucidating the relationship between poor EF and disinhibited eating, and offers insights into potential maintenance processes.

METHOD

Among youth ages 8-17 years, a regularized partial correlation network of EF and disinhibited eating facets was estimated to examine expected influence centrality and bridge expected influence. Computerized neurocognitive tasks assessed EF variables, including decision-making, general and food-related inhibitory control, delayed gratification, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Disinhibited eating variables included total carbohydrate-fat intake at a laboratory test meal and self-reported eating in the absence of hunger, emotional eating, and loss-of-control eating severity.

RESULTS

In the current sample (N = 248; M_age = 12.5; 54.8% female; 43.5% non-Hispanic White; 25.8% non-Hispanic Black; BMI %ile = 65.8 ± 27.8), emotional eating in response to depressive symptoms emerged as a central symptom in the network. Carbohydrate-fat intake had the highest bridge expected influence and was most strongly connected to general inhibitory control (part r = .14).

DISCUSSION

The link between general inhibitory control and objective palatable food intake may be particularly salient in maintaining maladaptive eating behavior. Interventions targeting behavioral disinhibition may disrupt associations among a network of disinhibited eating facets in youth and should be targets for longitudinal research.

Associations between weight-based teasing and disordered eating behaviors among youth

Weight-based teasing (WBT) is commonly reported among youth and is associated with disinhibited and disordered eating. Specifically, youth who experience WBT may engage in disordered eating behaviors to cope with the resultant negative affect. Therefore, we examined associations between WBT and disordered eating behaviors among youth and assessed whether negative affect mediated these relationships. Two hundred one non-treatment seeking youth (8-17y) completed questionnaires assessing WBT, disinhibited eating, depression, and anxiety. Disordered eating and loss-of-control (LOC) eating were assessed via semi-structured interview. Analyses of covariance were conducted to examine relationships between WBT and eating-related variables, and bootstrapping mediation models were used to evaluate negative affect (a composite of depressive and anxiety symptoms) as a mediator of these associations. All models were adjusted for sex, race, age, and adiposity. Among 201 participants (13.1 ± 2.8y; 54.2% female; 30.3% Black; 32.8% with overweight/obesity), WBT was associated with emotional eating, eating in the absence of hunger, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors (ps ≤ 0.02). These associations were all mediated by negative affect. WBT was also associated with a threefold greater likelihood of reporting a recent LOC eating episode (p = .049). Among boys and girls across weight strata, WBT was associated with multiple aspects of disordered eating and these relationships were mediated by negative affect. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the directionality of these associations and to identify subgroups of youth that may be particularly vulnerable to WBT and its sequelae.

Using association rules mining to characterize loss of control eating in childhood

Childhood loss of control (LOC)-eating, the perceived inability to stop or control eating, is associated with increased risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity. However, the correlates of LOC-eating in childhood remain unclear. A secondary analysis of 177, 7-12-year-old children from five laboratory feeding studies was performed to investigate potential family (e.g., frequency of meals together, feeding practices), parental (e.g., education, weight status), and child (e.g., weight status, appetite traits) correlates of LOC-eating. Association rules mining (ARM¹), a data-driven approach, was used to examine all characteristics that were common across studies to identify which were associated with LOC-eating. Results showed LOC-eating was characterized by a combination of child appetitive behaviors and parental feeding practices. In particular, LOC-eating was associated with low parental pressure to eat in combination with a high propensity to want to eat all the time and frequent refusal or dislike of novel foods. This pattern of both food approach (i.e., wanting to eat all the time) and avoidant behaviors (i.e., food fussiness) highlights the need for more research to characterize the complex patterns of appetitive traits associated with LOC-eating. In contrast, the absence of LOC-eating was associated with a low propensity to want to eat all the time, greater family income, and infrequent emotional overeating. Therefore, propensity to want to eat all the time, a single question from the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, characterized both the presence and absence of LOC-eating, highlighting the need for more research to determine if this question captures clinically relevant individual differences. Future studies addressing these questions will advance our understanding of pediatric LOC-eating and may lead to interventions to reduce risk for more severe eating disorder symptomology.

Emotion suppression, coping strategies, dietary patterns, and BMI

OBJECTIVE

Emotion suppression (ES) is associated with unhealthy coping strategies, such as emotional eating. Physical activity (PA) is a healthy coping strategy that may attenuate the association between emotion suppression and emotional eating (EE). This study evaluated whether: 1) ES is associated with body mass index (BMI) through EE and/or dietary patterns, 2) PA moderates these relationships, and 3) these patterns differ by race/ethnicity and gender.

METHODS

Adult participants (N = 1674) of the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating study completed modified versions of the Emotion Regulation, Eating in the Absence of Hunger, and International Physical Activity Questionnaires; a validated dietary assessment; and items on demographics, height, and weight.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed a serial mediation pathway in the full sample where greater ES was associated with higher BMI through greater EE and lower fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake (B = 0.0017, CI 95% [0.0001, 0.0042]) after controlling for age, gender, and education. Hedonic snack food (HSF) intake was not a significant mediator of the ES-BMI association. Greater PA attenuated associations of ES and EE with dietary intake and BMI. The serial pathway remained significant for non-Hispanic White women only in subgroup analyses. EE was a significant mediator among women, and PA effects were largely found among Hispanics and men.

CONCLUSIONS

ES was associated with higher BMI through greater EE and lower F&V, but not HSF intake. PA attenuated these associations. Differences in patterns of coping strategies may help to explain disparities in obesity-related health behavior.

Internally regulated eating style: a comprehensive theoretical framework

Internally regulated eating style, the eating style that is driven by internal bodily sensations of hunger and satiation, is a concept that has received increasing attention in the literature and health practice over the last decades. The various attempts that have been made so far to conceptualise internally regulated eating have taken place independently of one another, and each sheds light on only parts of the total picture of what defines internally regulated eating. This has resulted in a literature that is rather fragmented. More importantly, it is not yet clear which are the characteristics that comprise this eating style. In this paper, we identify and describe the full spectrum of these characteristics, namely, sensitivity to internal hunger and satiation signals, self-efficacy in using internal hunger and satiation signals, self-trusting attitude for the regulation of eating, relaxed relationship with food and tendency to savour the food while eating. With this research, we introduce a common language to the field and we present a new theoretical framework that does justice not just to the full breadth of characteristics that are necessary for the internally regulated eating style but also to the associations between them and the potential mechanisms by which they contribute to this eating style.

Inhibitory control and negative affect in relation to food intake among youth

Negative affect and poor inhibitory control are related to disinhibited eating behaviors in youth and may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of obesity. Although few studies have jointly examined these constructs in youth, it has been theorized that poor inhibitory control may be driven by negative affect. If supported, impaired inhibitory control, driven by negative affect, could represent a modifiable neurocognitive treatment target for disinhibited eating. The current study examined whether inhibitory control mediates the relationship between negative affect and eating among youth. Youth (8-17 years) participated in a Food Go/No-Go neurocognitive task to measure inhibitory control as the percentage of commission errors. A composite negative affect score was created from self-report measures of anxiety and depression. A laboratory buffet meal modeled to simulate disinhibited eating was used to measure total and snack food intake. Cross-sectional mediation models with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals (CI) were conducted using negative affect as the independent variable, inhibitory control as the mediator, and intake patterns as dependent variables. One-hundred-eighty-one youths (13.2 ± 2.7y; 55% female; BMIz 0.6 ± 1.0) were studied. Total Go/No-Go commission errors mediated the relationship between negative affect and total intake (95%CI = [0.3, 31.6]), but not snack intake (95%CI = [-2.5, 7.3]). Commission errors for Food-Go blocks significantly mediated the relationship between negative affect and total intake (95%CI = [7.7, 44.4]), but not snack intake (95%CI = [-3.4, 9.5]). Commission errors on Neutral-Go blocks did not significantly mediate any of these relationships. Negative affect may lead to poorer inhibitory control as well as a stronger approach tendency toward food, increasing the likelihood of engaging in disinhibited eating. Future research should determine if, in combination with approaches to reduce negative affect, improved inhibitory control could help prevent overeating in youths with depressive or anxiety symptoms.

Increased emotional eating behaviors in children with autism: Sex differences and links with dietary variety

LAY ABSTRACT

Although "picky" eating is well documented in autism spectrum disorder, emotional eating has rarely been investigated. This study examined emotional over- and under-eating based on parent ratings of these behaviors in 4- to 17-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 190) as compared to same-age typically developing children (n = 119). Children with autism spectrum disorder were rated as exhibiting both more emotional over-eating and more emotional under-eating behaviors than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, while sex differences in these emotional eating behaviors were not observed in the typically developing children, girls with autism spectrum disorder were rated as experiencing more emotional over-eating behaviors than boys with autism spectrum disorder. Finally, among all children with autism spectrum disorder, emotional over-eating was linked with increased consumption of sweet foods and decreased consumption of vegetables. These findings have implications for better understanding eating habits in children with autism spectrum disorder and suggest that emotional eating behaviors might have both immediate and downstream health impacts.

Psychosociocultural Contributors to Maladaptive Eating Behaviors in African American Youth: Recommendations and Future Directions

Childhood overweight and obesity disproportionately affects African Americans, and these children benefit less from standard pediatric weight management treatment programs compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Maladaptive eating behavior has been identified as a behavioral contributor to obesity and is also associated with the development of nonrestrictive eating disorders over time. Unique psychosociocultural factors have been identified that may promote higher risk for maladaptive eating behaviors in African American children beyond the effects of economic disparity. To best treat this group, it is important for practitioners to have a thorough understanding of these factors. We review several of these considerations and describe ways they may interact to contribute to the subsequent development of maladaptive eating behaviors and increased weight. Recommendations are made regarding how attention to these factors could be incorporated into current pediatric weight management treatments to better serve this population via a patient-centered care approach. Future directions will also be discussed.

Appetitive traits as targets for weight loss: The role of food cue responsiveness and satiety responsiveness

Individuals with overweight or obesity (OW/OB) are at increased risk for significant physical and psychological comorbidities. The current treatment for OW/OB is behavioral weight loss, which provides psychoeducation on nutrition and physical activity, as well as behavior therapy skills. However, behavioral weight loss is not effective for the majority of the individuals who participate. Research suggests that overeating, or eating past nutritional needs, is one of the leading causes of weight gain. Accumulating evidence suggests that appetitive traits, such as food cue responsiveness and satiety responsiveness, are associated with overeating and weight in youth and adults. The following review presents the current literature on the relationship between food cue responsiveness, satiety responsiveness, overeating, and OW/OB. Research suggests that higher food cue responsiveness and lower satiety responsiveness are associated with overeating and OW/OB cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Emerging data suggest that food cue responsiveness and satiety responsiveness may exist along the same continuum and can be targeted to manage overeating and reduce weight. We have developed a treatment model targeting food cue responsiveness and satiety responsiveness to reduce overeating and weight and have preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy data, with testing currently being conducted in larger trials. Through programs targeting appetitive traits we hope to develop an alternative weight loss model to assist individuals with a propensity to overeat.

Evaluating the Acceptability and Feasibility of Providing Egg or Cereal Breakfast during a Family-Based Treatment for Children with Overweight/Obesity: The Families and Breakfast Pilot Trial

Background: Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is the most successful weight-loss treatment for children with overweight and obesity, however, long-term success is only achieved by a third of children over time. The use of foods that induce satiety, such as eggs, could improve adherence to calorically restricted diets in children and improve outcomes. This study explored the consumption of eggs (FBT+egg) or cereal (FBT+cereal) for breakfast as part of an FBT program, when breakfast foods were provided to families. Methods: Fifty 8-12-year-old children with overweight and obesity and their parents were randomized to a 4-month FBT+egg or FBT+cereal treatment program. Families were provided the ingredients for their assigned breakfast at each treatment session, and instructed to consume the breakfast a minimum of 5 days per week. Families attended assessments at baseline, post-treatment, and 4-months post-treatment. Results: Results showed that both treatments were well liked, FBT attendance was similar, and there was high compliance with consumption of the specified breakfast. Children experienced moderate weight loss at post-treatment [-0.11 standardized BMI (BMIz)] through 4-month follow-up (-0.09 BMIz), with no statistically significant differences (mean difference -0.05 BMIz, 95% confidence interval -0.19 to 0.09) observed between egg and cereal conditions across any anthropometric or appetitive measures. Conclusions: The use of eggs for breakfast in children enrolled in FBT was well tolerated, and future studies should include larger samples and longer follow-up periods to assess the potential differential effects of prescribed breakfasts on children's weight and eating behaviors.

Role of appetitive phenotype trajectory groups on child body weight during a family-based treatment for children with overweight or obesity

OBJECTIVE

Emerging evidence suggests that individual appetitive traits may usefully explain patterns of weight loss in behavioral weight loss treatments for children. The objective of this study was to identify trajectories of child appetitive traits and the impact on child weight changes over time.

METHODS

Secondary data analyses of a randomized noninferiority trial conducted between 2011 and 2015 evaluated children's appetitive traits and weight loss. Children with overweight and obesity (mean age = 10.4; mean BMI z = 2.0; 67% girls; 32% Hispanic) and their parent (mean age = 42.9; mean BMI = 31.9; 87% women; 31% Hispanic) participated in weight loss programs and completed assessments at baseline, 3, 6,12, and 24 months. Repeated assessments of child appetitive traits, including satiety responsiveness, food responsiveness and emotional eating, were used to identify parsimonious grouping of change trajectories. Linear mixed-effects models were used to identify the impact of group trajectory on child BMIz change over time.

RESULTS

One hundred fifty children and their parent enrolled in the study. The three-group trajectory model was the most parsimonious and included a high satiety responsive group (HighSR; 47.4%), a high food responsive group (HighFR; 34.6%), and a high emotional eating group (HighEE; 18.0%). Children in all trajectories lost weight at approximately the same rate during treatment, however, only the HighSR group maintained their weight loss during follow-ups, while the HighFR and HighEE groups regained weight (adjusted p-value < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct trajectories of child appetitive traits were associated with differential weight loss maintenance. Identified high-risk subgroups may suggest opportunities for targeted intervention and maintenance programs.

Confirmation of the Factor Structure and Reliability of the 'Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire' in an Adolescent Sample

Introduction

Appetitive traits, including Food Responsiveness, Enjoyment of Food, Satiety Responsiveness, Emotional Over- and Under-Eating, Food Fussiness and Slowness in Eating, have been captured across childhood using the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). The Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) has explored these traits in adults, but not adolescents. This study aimed to test the factor structure and reliability of the AEBQ in a sample of UK adolescents, and explore demographic differences.

Materials and Methods

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested an 8-factor and a 7-factor AEBQ, based on valid, completed AEBQ responses (n = 913) from adolescents aged 11–18 recruited from four London secondary schools. Test–retest reliability was analyzed in a subsample (n = 106) 2-weeks later, and 492 participants completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to assess convergent validity. Demographic differences were explored using a multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model.

Results

The CFA revealed an adequate model fit for a 7-factor structure without Hunger [RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI:0.035,0.041); CFI = 0.926, TLI = 0.916; and χ²(df = 595) = 8502.69, p < 0.001]. These seven subscales showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α > 0.70). The ICC for the test–retest was above 0.70. Comparisons with the DEBQ supported the convergent validity of the AEBQ. Older age was associated with greater Food Responsiveness and Enjoyment of Food (all p-values < 0.005). Females reported higher levels of Emotional Over-Eating, Satiety Responsiveness, and Slowness in Eating than males (all p-values ≤ 0.003).

Conclusion

This study supports the use of the 7-factor AEBQ as a reliable measure of appetitive traits in adolescents.

Convergence in maternal and child reports of impulsivity, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety, and their predictive utility for binge-eating behaviors

OBJECTIVE

Early detection of binge-eating (BE) behaviors and their risk factors is associated with better outcomes. A multi-informant approach for assessing BE psychopathology and risk factors has been emphasized to increase the probability and accuracy of early detection. Impulsivity (particularly negative and positive urgency), trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms are associated with BE behaviors. The present study examined maternal-child convergence of reports of child BE, impulsivity, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms and examined the predictive power of maternal reports for child-reported BE behaviors.

METHOD

Participants included 927 female twins (aged 8-16 years) and 468 mothers from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Risk factors and BE were assessed with self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS

Intraclass correlation coefficients showed fair-to-moderate inter-rater agreement (ICCs = .31-.41) between maternal and child reports of risk factors and low-to-fair agreement for BE (ICCs = .05-.29). Controlling for the effects of age, pubertal status, body mass index, and family relatedness, multilevel models showed that maternal reports of child impulsivity, anxiety, and depressive symptoms did not add predictive power above and beyond child reports.

DISCUSSION

Results call into question the utility and practical implications of using maternal reports to supplement child reports for BE and its risk factors.

Design of the PACIFIC study: A randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel treatment for adults with overweight and obesity

The majority of adults in the United States have overweight or obesity which is associated with significant health and psychological consequences. Behavioral Weight Loss (BWL) is the current gold-standard weight-loss program for adults but recidivism rates continue to be disturbingly high. Given the health consequences of excess weight and the lack of long-term effectiveness of BWL, it is important to identify novel weight-loss programs. We developed the ROC (Regulation of Cues) program to reduce overeating through improvement in sensitivity to appetitive cues and decreased responsivity to external food cues. This study is a 4-arm randomized control trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of ROC, ROC combined with BWL, BWL alone and an active comparator over 24 months. Study recruitment completed in November 2017. Two hundred and seventy-one participants were randomized (mean age = 46.97 years; 82% female, mean BMI = 34.59; 20% Hispanic) and assessments were conducted at baseline, mid-treatment (6 months) and post-treatment (12 months). At this time, participants are completing 6- (18 months) and 12-month (24 months) follow-ups. Targeting novel mechanisms is critically important to improve weight-loss programs. Through this trial, we hope to identify treatments for adults with overweight and obesity to facilitate long-term weight loss and improved health.

Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire: association with BMI in children aged 3–10 years from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Objective:

To evaluate differences in children’s eating behaviour in relation to their weight status.

Design:

Prospective, cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measures were taken and age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentiles and Z-scores were calculated according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations to assess weight status. Parents completed a questionnaire which included demographic data and the Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) to assess eating behaviour.

Setting:

Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina (September 2016–September 2017).

Participants:

Male and female children aged 3–10 years and one of their parents.

Results:

The study sample comprised 2500 children; 6·8 % of them were underweight and 14·4 % were overweight, while there were 14·8 % obese children and 64·0 % had normal weight. The factor analysis of CEBQ revealed an eight-factor solution. Significant differences in CEBQ subscale scores were found within BMI categories for all CEBQ subscales except Food Fussiness. On the other hand, child BMI Z-scores showed a linear increase with the ‘food approach’ subscales of the CEBQ, except the Desire to Drink subscale which was excluded from analysis, and a decrease with ‘food avoidant’ subscales.

Conclusions:

The present study suggests that the CEBQ is valuable for identifying specific eating styles that are associated with weight status and can be seen as important and modifiable determinants implicated in the development and maintenance of overweight/obesity as well as underweight.

The association between alexithymia and eating behavior in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Alexithymia, or the difficulty identifying or describing one's own emotions, may be a risk factor for dysregulated eating and excess weight gain. However, the relationships between alexithymia and eating behaviors in community samples of non-clinical youth have not been well-characterized. We hypothesized that alexithymia would be positively associated with disordered and disinhibited eating in a community-based sample of boys and girls without an eating disorder.

METHOD

Two hundred children (8-17 years old) across the weight spectrum completed an interview to assess loss of control (LOC) eating and eating-related psychopathology, a laboratory test meal designed to induce disinhibited eating, and questionnaires to assess alexithymia, eating in the absence of hunger, and emotional eating. Linear and logistic regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between alexithymia and eating variables, with age, sex, race, and fat mass as covariates. Test meal analyses also adjusted for lean mass. Given the overlap between alexithymia and depression, all models were repeated with depressive symptoms as an additional covariate.

RESULTS

Alexithymia was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting LOC eating (p < .05). Moreover, alexithymia was positively associated with disordered eating attitudes, emotional eating, and eating in the absence of hunger (ps < .05). Greater alexithymia was associated with more carbohydrate and less fat intake at the test meal (ps < .05). After adjusting for depressive symptoms, alexithymia remained associated with eating in the absence of hunger and carbohydrate and fat intake (ps < .05).

DISCUSSION

In healthy children, alexithymia is associated with some facets of eating behavior and food intake. If supported prospectively, these preliminary findings suggest alexithymia may be a modifiable risk factor to reduce disordered eating and excess weight gain in youth.

Associations of Weekday and Weekend Sleep with Children's Reported Eating in the Absence of Hunger

Insufficient average sleep duration has been inconsistently associated with poor diet and obesity risks in youth. Inconsistencies in findings across studies may be due to a general failure to examine associations in weekday versus weekend sleep. We hypothesized that greater variations in weekday and weekend sleep duration would be associated with more disinhibited eating behaviors, which, in turn, might be involved in the relationship between sleep and weight. We, therefore, examined, among healthy, non-treatment seeking youth, the associations of average weekly, weekend, and weekday sleep duration with eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), a disinhibited eating behavior associated with disordered eating and obesity. Sleep was assessed via actigraphy for 14 days. Participants completed a self-report measure of EAH. Adiposity was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Linear regressions were used to test the associations of sleep duration with EAH and the associations of sleep duration and EAH, with fat mass. Among 123 participants (8–17 years, 52.0% female, and 30.9% with overweight), there was no significant association between average weekly sleep and EAH. Further, there was no significant association among average weekly sleep duration or EAH and fat mass. However, average weekday sleep was negatively associated, and average weekend sleep was positively associated, with EAH (ps < 0.02). Weekend “catch-up” sleep (the difference between weekend and weekday sleep) was positively associated with EAH (p < 0.01). Findings indicate that shorter weekday sleep and greater weekend “catch-up” sleep are associated with EAH, which may place youth at risk for the development of excess weight gain over time.