Validation of the adult eating behavior questionnaire in a Norwegian sample of adolescents.

Eating behaviors are related to health and well-being. To examine stability and change in eating behaviors throughout life, developmentally appropriate measures capturing the same eating behavior dimensions are needed. The newly developed Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) builds on the well-established parent-reported Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), and together with the corresponding Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire (BEBQ), these questionnaires cover all ages. However, validation studies on adolescents are relatively sparse and have yielded somewhat conflicting results. The present study adds to existing research by testing the psychometric properties of the AEBQ in a sample of 14-year-olds and examining its construct validity by means of the parent-reported CEBQ. The current study uses age 14 data (analysis sample: n = 636) from the ongoing Trondheim Early Secure Study, a longitudinal study of a representative birth cohort of Norwegian children (baseline: n = 1007). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factorial validity of AEBQ. Construct validity was examined by bivariate correlations between AEBQ subscales and CEBQ subscales. CFAs revealed that a 7-factor solution of the AEBQ, with the Hunger scale removed, was a better-fitting model than the original 8-factor structure. The 7-factor model was respecified based on theory and model fit indices, resulting in overall adequate model fit (χ2 = 896.86; CFI = 0.924; TLI = 0.912; RMSEA = 0.05 (90% CI: 0.043, 0.051); SRMR = 0.06). Furthermore, small-to-moderate correlations were found between corresponding AEBQ and CEBQ scales. This study supports a 7-factor solution of the AEBQ without the Hunger scale and provide evidence of its construct validity in adolescents. Several of the CEBQ subscales were significantly associated with weight status, whereas this was the case for only one of the AEBQ scales.

The influence of early and current feeding practices, eating behaviors, and screen time on dietary patterns in Polish toddlers - A cross-sectional study.

Early nutrition has an important influence on a child's proper health and development, and understanding factors that may be related to desirable dietary patterns is key to improving the diet of future generations. The aim of this study was to assess whether early and current feeding practices, eating behaviors, and screen time viewing are associated with toddlers' dietary patterns. A cross-sectional sample of 467 mothers of toddlers (aged 1 year to 3) was surveyed between 2020 and 2022. Food consumption was evaluated by the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The k-means algorithm was used to define dietary patterns on the basis of data collected from the FFQ and mealtime environment patterns, based on the data about practices during meals consumption. The odds of following a prohealth dietary pattern among early feeding factors were lower when infants ate commercial complementary foods more often. Distracted mealtime environment pattern increased the odds of following a non-eaters pattern, and commercial complementary foods pattern increased the odds of following a processed pattern. Currently, the odds of following a processed dietary pattern were higher when children were not breastfed and had higher screen time. Toddlers who ate during distraction and were more fussy had lower odds of following a prohealth dietary pattern, whereas higher enjoyment of food and satiety responsiveness increased the odds. The results indicate the need to increase parents' awareness about the importance of early factors in establishing dietary patterns.

A novel MRI-based Cervical-Endplate Bone Quality score independently predicts cage subsidence after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative cage subsidence after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) often has adverse clinical consequences and is closely related to Bone Mineral Density (BMD). Previous studies have shown that cage subsidence can be better predicted by measuring site-specific bone density. MRI-based Endplate Bone Quality (EBQ) scoring effectively predicts cage subsidence after lumbar interbody fusion. However, there is still a lack of studies on the practical application of EBQ scoring in the cervical spine. PURPOSE: To create a similar MRI-based scoring system for Cervical-EBQ (C-EBQ) and to assess the correlation of the C-EBQ with endplate Computed Tomography (CT)-Hounsfield Units (HU) and the ability of this scoring system to independently predict cage subsidence after ACDF, comparing the predictive ability of the C-EBQ with the Cervical-Vertebral Bone Quality (C-VBQ) score. METHODS: A total of 161 patients who underwent single-level ACDF for degenerative cervical spondylosis at our institution from 2012 to 2022 were included. Demographics, procedure-related data, and radiological data were collected, and Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between C-EBQ and endplate HU values. Cage subsidence was defined as fusion segment height loss of ≥ 3 mm. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and area-under-the-curve values were used to assess the predictive ability of C-EBQ and C-VBQ. A multivariate logistic regression model was developed to identify potential risk factors associated with subsidence. RESULTS: Cage subsidence was present in 65 (40.4%) of 161 patients. The mean C-EBQ score was 1.81 ± 0.35 in the group without subsidence and 2.59 ± 0.58 in the group with subsidence (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that a higher C-EBQ score was significantly associated with subsidence (OR = 5.700; 95%CI = 3.435-8.193; P < 0.001), was the only independent predictor of cage subsidence after ACDF, had a predictive accuracy of 93.7%, which was superior to the C-VBQ score (89.2%), and was significantly negatively correlated with the endplate HU value (r = -0.58, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher C-EBQ scores were significantly associated with postoperative cage subsidence after ACDF. There was a significant negative correlation between C-EBQ and endplate HU values. The C-EBQ score may be a promising tool for assessing preoperative bone quality and postoperative cage subsidence and is superior to the C-VBQ.

Weight Gain in Early Infancy Impacts Appetite Regulation in the First Year of Life. A Prospective Study of Infants Living in Cyprus.

BACKGROUND: Eating behavior is associated with weight gain in infancy and childhood. Few studies found a bidirectional association between weight gain and eating behavior development in childhood, but there is little data on the association in early infancy, a period critical for the programming of obesity risk. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the bidirectional association between appetite traits and weight gain during the first year of life. METHODS: Participants were part of a cohort of 432 infants born in Cyprus. Appetite traits were measured using the Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire or the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire at age 2 to 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. Weight and length were collected at birth, 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze associations between appetite traits at 2 to 4 wk and 6 mo and weight for age z-score change (WFAZC) between 4 wk and 6 mo and 6 and 12 mo. Associations were also analyzed in the opposite direction, between WFAZC from birth to 4 wk, 4 wk to 6 mo, and 6 mo to 12 mo and appetite traits at 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. RESULTS: Satiety responsiveness (SR) at 2 to 4 wk was associated with lower WFAZC from 4 wk to 6 mo (ß: -0.17; 95% CI: -0.30, -0.04) and SR at age 6 mo was associated with lower WFAZC from 6 to 12 mo (ß: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.17, -0.02). WFAZC from 4 wk to 6 mo was associated with higher enjoyment of food at 12 mo (ß: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.20), higher food responsiveness at 12 mo (ß: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.30), and lower SR at both 6 mo (ß: -0.11; 95% CI: -0.21, -0.01) and 12 mo (ß: -0.14; 95% CI: -0.24, -0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found a bidirectional association between weight gain and appetite traits in infancy, suggesting that the effect of postnatal weight gain on obesity development is partly mediated by programming of appetite traits.

Neural correlates of appetite in adolescents.

Appetitive characteristics are associated with child adiposity, but their biological underpinnings are unclear. We sought to investigate the neural correlates of psychometric and behavioral measures of appetitive characteristics in youth. Adolescents (14-18y; 39F, 37M) varying in familial obesity risk and body weight (20% with overweight, 24% with obesity) viewed pictures of high energy-density (ED) foods, low-ED foods and non-foods during fMRI scanning on two separate days. On one day participants consumed a 474 ml preload of water (0 kcal, fasted) and on another (counter-balanced) 474 ml milkshake (480 kcal, fed), before scanning. A multi-item ad libitum meal (ALM) followed scanning. Parents completed Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) sub-scales assessing food approach and food self-regulation. Caloric compensation was calculated as the percentage of preload intake compensated for by down-regulation of ALM intake in the fed vs. fasted condition. Analyses correcting for multiple comparisons demonstrated that, for the fasted condition, higher CEBQ Food Responsiveness scores were associated with greater activation to high-ED (vs. low-ED) foods in regions implicated in food reward (insula, rolandic operculum, putamen). In addition, higher caloric compensation was associated with greater fed vs. fasted activations in response to foods (vs. non-foods) in thalamus and supramarginal gyrus. Uncorrected analyses provided further support for associations of different measures of appetitive characteristics with brain responses to food cues in each condition. Measures of appetitive characteristics demonstrated overlapping and distinct associations with patterns of brain activation elicited by food cues in fasted and fed states. Understanding the neural basis of appetitive characteristics could aid development of biobehaviorally-informed obesity interventions.

Associations of diet quality, food consumption, eating frequency and eating behaviour with dental caries experience in Finnish children: a 2-year longitudinal study.

We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of dietary factors with caries experience in a population sample of 487 children aged 6-9 years at baseline examinations of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) Study. Altogether, 406 of these children attended 2-year follow-up examinations. Food consumption and eating frequency were assessed using 4-day food records, diet quality using the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and eating behaviour using the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Caries experience was examined clinically. The cross-sectional associations of dietary factors with caries experience at baseline were analysed using linear regression and the longitudinal associations of dietary factors with a change in caries experience over follow-up using generalised mixed-effects regression adjusted for other risk factors. A higher consumption of high-fibre grain products (standardised regression coefficient ß = -0·16, P = 0·003) and milk (ß = -0·11, P = 0·025) and higher BSDS (ß = -0·15, P = 0·007) were associated with lower caries experience, whereas a higher consumption of potatoes (ß = 0·11, P = 0·048) and emotional overeating (ß = 0·12, P = 0·025) were associated with higher caries experience. Higher snacking frequency (fixed coefficient ß = 0·07, P = 0·033), desire to drink (ß = 0·10, P = 0·046), slowness in eating (ß = 0·12, P = 0·027) and food fussiness (ß = 0·12, P = 0·018) were associated with higher caries experience, whereas enjoyment of food (ß = -0·12, P = 0·034) and higher BSDS (ß = -0·02, P = 0·051) were associated with lower caries experience.

How do young children eat after an obesity intervention? Validation of the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire using the Rasch Model in diverse samples from Australia and Sweden.

Child eating behaviours have consistently been linked to child weight status. Yet, changes in child eating behaviours during early obesity treatment are rarely evaluated. Psychometric evaluation of the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is common, but results are sample-dependent and included items may not capture the full range of the underlying traits. Rasch analysis can overcome these disadvantages. The aim of this paper was to assess child eating behaviours measured by the CEBQ after a 12-month obesity intervention applying the Rasch model for the validation of the CEBQ. The Rasch-based fit statistics were applied in children from two samples, Australian and Swedish (n = 1724). Changes in eating behaviours amongst children aged 4-6 years were examined in the More and Less RCT for obesity treatment (n = 177), which compared a parenting programme (with and without boosters) against standard treatment. Parents completed the CEBQ at four time points over 12-months. Linear mixed models were applied to estimate treatment effects on the CEBQ, refined according to Rasch, over time. We found that the validity of CEBQ was confirmed after removing 4 items (item fit statistics outside range 0.5-1.5). When the refined CEBQ was used in the assessment of the RCT, there were no differences in parental reports of changes in children's eating behaviours between the parenting programme and standard treatment (group-by-time interactions p > 0.05). However, in the total sample food approach behaviours decreased while fussy eating behaviours increased (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the refined CEBQ proved to be a valid tool for examining parent-reported child eating behaviours. Early obesity treatment may decrease eating behaviours associated with higher child weight. Future research should address the associations between changes in child weight status and eating behaviours.

Longitudinal bidirectional relationship between children's appetite and diet quality: A prospective cohort study.

This study explored the relationship between eating behaviours and diet quality, from 7 to 10y. The sample included 3879 children evaluated, from the Portuguese birth cohort Generation XXI, with complete information on Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and the Children Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). A healthy eating index (HEI) (range: 9-31) was developed to evaluate the child's diet quality. The eight CEBQ's eating behaviours were included in the analysis. Generalised linear models were used to estimate the associations. Adjusted structural equation modelling was performed to study the direction of the associations. Eating behaviours measured at age 7y tracked to age 10y. A bidirectional inverse association between the food fussiness trait and diet quality was found, with a similar magnitude (p < 0.001), thus a higher score on food fussiness predicted a lower quality of the diet. A higher HEI score at 7y was associated with lower satiety responsiveness at 10y (ßstandardized = -0.039), and a higher HEI score at age 10y was associated with higher enjoyment of food at 7y (ßstandardized = 0.046). Eating behaviours were linked to diet quality in children with high enjoyment of food and low food fussiness at age 7y linked to a high-quality diet at 10y. In addition, children with high-quality diets at 7y were more likely to have lower food fussiness and satiety responsiveness at 10y. Given the stability of eating behaviours and the bidirectional nature of effects between eating behaviours and dietary quality in the long term, tailored interventions may be needed to encourage the acquisition of healthy eating behaviours and habits in early life.

Can children report on their own picky eating? Similarities and differences with parent report.

Picky eating in childhood is associated with children's dietary outcomes and parental feeding experiences. The Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a frequently-used parent-report survey that measures children's eating behaviors, including picky eating. Limited work has adapted the CEBQ into a child-friendly format to measure children's ability to report directly on their own picky eating behavior. We sought to extend previous research by adapting the Food Fussiness subscale of the CEBQ into a child self-report format and measuring parent-child resemblance in scores, with children as young as 3 years. Our final sample included 3- to 10-year-old children (n = 95) and their parents, who were assessed at a local children's museum. The internal consistency of parent-report on the CEBQ FF was α = 0.9 and child-report was α = 0.7, with parent scores predicting child scores when controlling for child age and child gender. The largest difference between parent and child scores on child picky eating (with parents reporting higher scores) was for 3- to 4-year-old children. Children are able to report on their own picky eating and with age their reports converge with those of their parents, highlighting the potential benefit of collecting picky eating scores from multiple informants (parent and child). We suggest future directions for the validation and extension of this measure.

Evaluation of eating behaviors in childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: Case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial and behavioral disorders have been reported in childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (CECTS). We aimed to identify the symptoms of eating disorders in CECTS. METHODS: Patients with CECTS were recruited from the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic between September 2019 and July 2020. The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) was administered to 39 patients and 31 controls. Patients' scores were compared with those of healthy subjects. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the CEBQ of patients with CECTS and the control group (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the BMI of the patients with CECTS and the control group. In the patient group with CECTS, no significant difference was found in terms of CEBQ according to the antiepileptic drug used and EEG findings (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: No difference was found in the eating habits of patients with CECTS compared with the healthy control group.

Measuring short-term eating behaviour and desire to eat: Validation of the child eating behaviour questionnaire and a computerized 'desire to eat' computerized questionnaire.

The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is designed to measure 'usual' eating behaviour, with no time period attached, thus may not be suitable for assessing the effectiveness of short-term experimental studies. The aim of this study was to validate i) the CEBQ adapted to measure 'past week' rather than 'usual' eating behaviour, and ii) a computerized questionnaire assessing desire to eat core and non-core foods, against an objective measure of eating behaviour and food intake (eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) experiment). Children (n = 103) aged 8-12 years completed the desire to eat questionnaire followed by the EAH experiment while primary caregivers completed the adapted CEBQ. Results from the CEBQ showed that children with greater 'satiety responsiveness' (1-point higher) consumed less energy (-342 kJ; 95% CI -574, -110) whereas those with greater 'enjoyment of food' scale consumed more energy (380 kJ; 95% CI 124, 636) during the ad-libitum phase of the EAH experiment. Higher scores for slowness in eating (-705 kJ; 95% CI -1157, -254), emotional undereating (-590 kJ; 95% CI -1074, -106) and food fussiness (-629 kJ; 95% CI -1103, -155) were associated with lower total energy intake. Children who expressed greater desire to eat non-core foods consumed more energy in total (275 kJ; 95% CI 87, 463). Overall, this adapted CEBQ appears valid for measuring several short-term eating behaviours in children. The desire to eat questionnaire may be useful for identifying short-term susceptibility to overeating, however further investigation into how ratings of desire relate to the intake of highly palatable, energy dense foods is warranted.

Caloric compensation ability around the age of 1 year: Interplay with the caregiver-infant mealtime interaction and infant appetitive traits.

Previously, we demonstrated that infants' caloric compensation ability decreases between 11 and 15 months old. Here, we explored whether the inter-individual variation in infants' caloric compensation ability is associated with caregiver-infant interaction during laboratory test meals or with infant appetitive traits. To describe caregiver-infant interaction, we recorded feeding in laboratory ad libitum meals when the infants were 11 and 15 months old by using a connected weighing scale. We extracted the weight of each offered spoonful and the time interval between two spoonfuls. The caloric compensation score (COMPX) was assessed during the same meals. At 11 and 15 months old, the caregiver rated their infant's appetitive traits by completing the CEBQ-T. Student's t tests were applied to test the relationships between the variables describing the caregiver-infant interaction and the COMPX score. The relationships between the COMPX score or its change and the infants' appetitive traits were assessed with Kendall correlations. Regarding appetitive traits, the more the caloric compensation ability decreased between 11 and 15 months old, the more the infants were perceived as food responsive between these ages (τ = -0.36, p = 0.01, n = 28). At 11 months old, when the time interval between two spoonfuls was positively associated with the previous spoonful weight (i.e., a longer time interval after a larger spoonful weight), the infants exhibited a better caloric compensation ability (t = -2.1, p = 0.04, n = 38). Moreover, this study provides new evidence regarding the importance of a responsive feeding style by suggesting that adapting the feeding pace to the spoonful weight could be a favourable practice associated with better caloric compensation ability by the end of the first year. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered at clinicals.gov as NCT03409042 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03409042).

A comparison of maternal feeding responses to child fussy eating in low-income food secure and food insecure households.

Children learn to like a wide variety of healthy foods through exposure in their early feeding environment. While some children may reject foods during this learning process, parents may perceive persistent refusal as 'fussy' or 'picky' eating. Low-income parents may provide fussy children with a narrow range of foods that they will like and accept to avoid food and economic waste; inadvertently limiting children's exposure to a variety of healthy foods. This 'risk aversion' to food rejection may be particularly salient in food insecure households where resources are further constrained. We aimed to examine if food insecurity modifies the relationship between child fussy eating and parents' food provision and feeding with respect to exposure to a variety of healthy foods. Australian mothers residing in a low-income community (N = 260) completed a cross-sectional survey on their preschool-aged child's 'food fussiness', household food insecurity and food exposure practices. Food exposure practices included the home availability of fruit and vegetables, and children's tasting of a variety of fruit and vegetables (food provision); and whether parents prepared alternative meals for their child (feeding). Mothers reporting food insecurity (11%) were less likely to have fruit frequently available in the home compared to mothers reporting food security. Food insecurity moderated the relationship between fussy eating and food exposure practices insofar that food secure mothers were more likely to prepare alternative meals for fussier children. Family resources and child fussy eating behaviours are identified as important contextual factors in food provision and feeding. Findings from the current study suggest that health professionals, researchers and policymakers tailor interventions to consider both the needs of families and child eating characteristics.

Oral processing behaviours that promote children's energy intake are associated with parent-reported appetitive traits: Results from the GUSTO cohort.

Oral processing behaviours associated with faster eating rates have been consistently linked to increased energy intakes, but little is known about their links to children's appetitive traits. This study used the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) to explore cross-sectional and prospective associations between parent-reported appetitive traits and observed oral processing behaviours. Participants were 195 children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort, who participated in a video-recorded ad libitum lunch at 4.5 (Time 1) and 6 years (Time 2). Their mothers completed the CEBQ around the same time points. Children's bites, chews and swallows were coded, and used to calculate their eating rate, bite size, chews per bite, chew rate, oral exposure time and oral exposure per bite. At Time 1, children with higher scores in slowness in eating had lower eating and chew rates. At Time 2, higher scores for food enjoyment and lower for satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, and food fussiness were linked with higher eating rates and greater energy intakes (r > 0.16, p < 0.05). Post-hoc analyses revealed that these associations were moderated by BMI and only present among children with higher BMI. Faster eating rates mediated the associations between greater food enjoyment, lower slowness in eating, lower food fussiness and higher intakes of energy. Children with higher slowness in eating scores had lower increases in eating rates over time, and children with higher BMI who had greater food enjoyment and food responsiveness scores had greater increases in eating rates over time. The findings suggest that oral processing behaviours linked with increased obesity risk may be underpinned by appetitive traits and may be one of the behavioural pathways through which these appetitive traits influence energy intakes.

Tracking diet variety in childhood and its association with eating behaviours related to appetite: The generation XXI birth cohort.

Research on the influence of early eating habits on eating behaviours related to appetite using a prospective approach is scarce, especially in children. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between changes in diet variety from 4 to 7 years of age and appetitive traits measured at 7 years of age. Participants are from the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI (2005-2006). The present analysis included 4537 children with complete data on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at both ages, and on the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire at 7y. A healthy diet variety index (HDVI) was calculated at both ages using data from the FFQ. To assess tracking of diet variety, tertiles of HDVI scores were calculated and then re-categorized as 'maintain: low', 'maintain: high', 'increase' and 'decrease'. Although the HDVI score decreased from 4 to 7y (p < .001), it showed a high stability, a positive predictive value, and a fair agreement. Increasing diet variety, compared to maintaining a low variety, was inversely associated with the 'Desire to Drink' (ß = -0.090, 95%CI: 0.174; -0.006) and 'Satiety Responsiveness' (ß = -0.119, 95%CI: 0.184; -0.054) subdimensions and positively with 'Enjoyment of Food' (ß = 0.098, 95%CI: 0.023; 0.172) and 'Emotional Overeating' (ß = 0.073, 95%CI: 0.006; 0.139). Those classified as either increase or maintain a high diet variety, in comparison with maintaining a low variety, had lower scores of 'Food Fussiness'. In conclusion, diet variety decreased from 4 to 7y with a fair tracking. Children with a higher diet variety were less fussy, had a lower desire to drink and a higher general interest in food.

Are eating behaviors related with by body mass index, gender and age?

The present study was carried out with parents of 520 healthy children between the ages of 2-12 and their parents who were referred to the diet polyclinic of a hospital in Ankara. The data were collected through personal interviews. The interviews included identifying the characteristics of the child and his/her parents, anthropometric measurements, questions investigating eating status, and the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire. According to the body mass index-Z scores, there were differences between subgroups of food responsiveness, emotional overeating, enjoyment of food, food fussiness, and slowness in eating. The gender-based desire to drink score was, on average, higher in boys. No gender-based differences were found in other subgroups, whereas the scores in the food fussiness and slowness in eating and emotional undereating were higher in the preschool group when analyzed by age. In conclusion, eating behaviors of overweight and obese children differ from those of normal and underweight children.

Early Life Characteristics Associated with Appetite-Related Eating Behaviors in 7-Year-Old Children.

OBJECTIVE: To assess early life characteristics associated with appetite-related eating behaviors in 7-year-old children. STUDY DESIGN: The participants are children from the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI. Data on sociodemographics, health, and lifestyles and anthropometrics were collected at birth, and 4- and 7-year-old evaluations. A Portuguese version of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire was completed by mothers (n = 3562 children) with children aged 7 years old. A 2-factor solution was identified: factor 1-appetite restraint and factor 2-appetite disinhibition. Associations were estimated through generalized linear models adjusted for maternal age, education, body mass index (BMI) before birth, family structure, number of siblings, and child's sex (ß regression coefficients and 95% CIs). RESULTS: Higher appetite restraint at 7 years old was associated with higher maternal age and educational level, families with both parents (1- vs 2-parent: ß = -0.074, 95% CI -0.140, -0.007) and no siblings (≥2 vs 0: ß = -0.152, 95% CI -0.224, -0.081), and more sedentary lifestyles at 4 years old. It was also associated with lower child and maternal BMI and waist circumference at 4 years old. In contrast, higher appetite disinhibition was associated with lower maternal educational background, having a 1-parent family, more sedentary behaviors (≥120 vs <120 min/d of media: ß = 0.055, 95% CI 0.018, 0.093), and higher BMI and waist circumference at 4 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Higher maternal age and education, and a family with both parents at 4 years old seem to influence higher appetite restraint, but less appetite disinhibition at 7 years old. More sedentary lifestyles at 4 years old were associated with higher appetite restraint and appetite disinhibition scores later in childhood. These results can be useful for the development of prevention guidelines and educational strategies aimed at improving healthy eating behaviors.

Different Eating Habits Are Observed in Overweight and Obese Children Than in Normal-Weight Peers.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is diagnosed in 13.6% of early primary school children in Poland. Its presence at this age increases the risk of obesity occurrence in adulthood. Therefore, it is important to properly shape eating behaviors at the stage of childhood and identify incorrect eating styles. METHODS: This study aimed to investigate whether overweight and obese children differ significantly from children with normal body weights in terms of their eating styles. For the materials and methods, 43 mothers of overweight or obese children aged 3-10 years and 88 mothers of normal-weight children aged 3-10 years completed a questionnaire related to sociodemographic factors and the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. RESULTS: The overweight and obese children, compared with normal-weight children, scored higher on the food responsiveness (p = 0.009) and emotional overeating (p = 0.013) scales and lower on the satiety responsiveness (p = 0.025) and slowness in eating scales (p < 0.0001). No significant difference was found for other subscales between the studied groups. In the group of overweight and obese children, the child's age correlated negatively with enjoyment of food, as did the mother's BMI with slowness in eating. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate the presence of significant differences in eating styles between normal-weight children and overweight or obese children. Identifying families at high risk of inappropriate eating behaviors and educating them appropriately can reduce the risk of children becoming overweight or obese.

Child eating behavior predicts body mass index after 1 year: results from the Swiss Preschooler's Health Study (SPLASHY).

Child obesity is a growing global issue. Preventing early development of overweight and obesity requires identifying reliable risk factors for high body mass index (BMI) in children. Child eating behavior might be an important and malleable risk factor that can be reliably assessed with the parent-report Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). Using a hierarchical dataset (children nested within child care centers) from a representative cohort of Swiss preschool children, we tested whether eating behavior, assessed with a 7-factor solution of the CEBQ, and BMI at baseline predicted the outcome BMI after 1 year, controlling for socioeconomic status (n = 555; 47% female; mean age = 3.9 years, range: 2.2-6.6; mean BMI = 16 kg/m2, range: 11.2-23; mean age- and sex-corrected z-transformed BMI, zBMI = 0.4, range -4 to +4.7). The statistical model explained 65.2% of zBMI at follow-up. Baseline zBMI was a strong positive predictor, uniquely explaining 48.8% of outcome variance. A linear combination of all CEBQ scales, taken together, explained 10.7% of outcome variance. Due to their intercorrelations, uniquely explained variance by any individual scale was of negligible clinical relevance. Only food responsiveness was a significant predictor, when accounting for all other predictors and covariates in the model, and uniquely explained only 0.4% of outcome variance. Altogether, our results confirm, extend, and refine previous research on eating behavior and zBMI in preschool children, by adjusting for covariates, accounting for intercorrelations between predictors, partitioning explained outcome variance, and providing standardized beta estimates. Our findings show the importance of carefully examining the contribution of predictors in multiple regression models for clinically relevant outcomes.

The associations between attentional bias to food cues, parent-report appetitive traits, and concurrent adiposity among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether attentional bias to food cues and appetitive traits are independently and interactively associated with adiposity in adolescents. METHOD: Eighty-five adolescents, 14-17-years had their attentional bias to food images measured in a sated state by computing eye tracking measures of attention (first fixation duration, cumulative fixation duration) to food and control distractor images that bordered a computer game. Parents reported adolescent appetitive traits including the food approach domains of enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, emotional overeating, and the food avoidance domains of satiety responsiveness and emotional overeating through the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire. RESULTS: First fixation bias to food cues was positively associated with enjoyment of food, and negatively associated with satiety responsiveness. In a series of regression models adjusted for relevant covariates, first fixation bias to food cues (ß = 0.83, p = 0.007), higher food responsiveness (ß = 0.74, p < 0.001), higher emotional overeating (ß = 0.51, p = 0.002), and a composite appetite score (ß = 1.42, p < 0.001) were each significantly associated with greater BMI z-scores. In models assessing the interactive effects between attentional bias and appetitive traits, higher first fixation bias to food cues interacted synergistically with food responsiveness and emotional overeating in relation to BMI z-score. A synergistic interaction between first fixation bias to food cues and the composite appetite score in relation to BMI z-score was also observed. CONCLUSION: Individuals with high attentional bias to food cues and obesogenic appetitive traits may be particularly susceptible to weight gain.