Parental reward-based eating drive predicts parents' feeding behaviors and Children's ultra-processed food intake.

ABSTRACT

Reward-based eating drive is associated with individual consumption, but there has been a paucity of research on the relationships between parental reward-based eating, child feeding behaviors, and child food consumption. Child feeding behaviors likely to be associated with parental reward-based eating drive include the provision of ultra-processed foods, as they are designed to be hyperpalatable and are associated with disordered food intake. The present study uses a virtual reality (VR) buffet restaurant environment to examine parents' food choice behaviors for their children and a food frequency assessment to measure the children's reported consumption over the course of a week. Results found that parental reward-based eating drive significantly predicted ultra-processed calories chosen by parents for their children in the VR Buffet, as well as the amount of ultra-processed food children ate according to the food frequency assessment. Both of these effects were significantly mediated by the healthfulness of the home food environment. This study is among the first to demonstrate associations between parental reward-based eating drive and child-focused food behavior and to elucidate a mediating effect of the home food environment on such relationships. These findings may be useful for the development of family-based interventions to improve child feeding and ultimately child health.