Impulsiveness tied to faster eating in children, can lead to obesity
Research also suggests cravings after sight and/or smell of food linked
to inability to self-soothe in kids

Date:
July 7, 2021
Source:
University at Buffalo
Summary:
The research sought to uncover the relationship between temperament
and eating behaviors in early childhood. The findings are critical
because faster eating and greater responsiveness to food cues have
been linked to obesity risk in children.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Children who eat slower are less likely to be extroverted and impulsive, according to a new study co-led by the University at Buffalo and
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.


==========================================================================
The research, which sought to uncover the relationship between temperament
and eating behaviors in early childhood, also found that kids who were
highly responsive to external food cues (the urge to eat when food is
seen, smelled or tasted) were more likely to experience frustration and discomfort and have difficulties self-soothing.

These findings are critical because faster eating and greater
responsiveness to food cues have been linked to obesity risk in children,
says Myles Faith, PhD, co-author and professor of counseling, school
and educational psychology in the UB Graduate School of Education.

The research, published in June in Pediatric Obesity, supports the
integration of temperament into studies of and treatment for childhood
obesity, a connection Faith deemed in need of further exploration in a
previous study he co-led.

"Temperament is linked to many child developmental and behavioral
outcomes, yet despite emerging evidence, few studies have examined its relationship with pediatric obesity," said co-lead investigator Robert Berkowitz, MD, emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania
and director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Research Program at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Co-lead investigator Alyssa Button, doctoral candidate in the UB Graduate School of Education, is the first author.

The researchers surveyed 28 participants beginning a family intervention program to reduce eating speed among 4- to 8-year-old children with or
at risk for obesity.

The study examined the associations between three eating behaviors and
three facets of temperament. The eating behaviors included responsiveness
to feeling full (internal food cues); responsiveness to seeing, smelling
and tasting food (external food cues); and eating speed. Temperament
consisted of extroversion and impulsivity (also known as surgency); self-control; and the inability to self-sooth negative emotions such as
anger, fear and sadness.

Among the findings is that children who respond well to feeling full
exhibit more self-control. More research is needed to understand the
role parents play in their children's temperament and eating behavior,
says Button.

"Parents may use food to soothe temperamental children and ease negative emotions," says Button, also a senior research support specialist in the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. "Future research should examine the different ways parents
feed their children in response to their temperament, as well as explore whether the relationship between temperament and eating behaviors is a
two-way street.

Could the habit of eating slower, over time, lead to lower impulsiveness?" "This study established relationships between temperament and
eating patterns in children; however, there is still the question of chicken-and-egg and which comes first?" says Faith. "Research that follows families over time is needed to untangle these developmental pathways."
The study was funded by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_at_Buffalo. Original
written by Marcene Robinson. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alyssa Button, Myles S. Faith, Robert I. Berkowitz. Temperament and
eating self‐regulation in young children with or at risk
for obesity: An exploratory report. Pediatric Obesity, 2021; DOI:
10.1111/ ijpo.12821 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210707140721.htm

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