New Research Reveals How Four Different Eating Patterns Impact Kids’ Health And Aims To Provide Parents With More Personalized Guidelines For Meal Time
Do you have a kiddo who’s fussy about food? Researchers at Ashton University in the UK may have cracked the code on why that is.
They’ve pinpointed four unique eating habits in children and offered insights into how parents can adjust their approach to mealtime. This research aims to tackle the growing issue of childhood obesity by delving into the connections between eating tendencies, kids’ temperaments, parenting strategies, and food availability.
In the U.S., almost 20% of kids are dealing with weight issues, either being overweight or obese. To help fight this worrisome trajectory, scientists have been digging into eating habits to identify markers that could indicate which children are at a higher risk of weight gain. Their study breaks down children into four specific eating categories: “happy,” “avid,” “typical,” and “fussy.”
“Typical eaters made up 44% of the children in the study, while fussy eaters accounted for 16%. But of greatest interest to the team was that around one in five young children in the study were found to show ‘avid eating,’ including greater enjoyment of food, faster eating speed, and weaker sensitivity to internal clues of ‘fullness,'” according to a press release published by the university.
Kids who fall into the “avid” eating category not only have a greater love for food, but they also tend to eat more quickly and are less attuned to feeling full. When presented with appetizing food, whether by sight, smell, or taste, they’re more likely to eat larger portions.
They also show a tendency to emotionally overeat. These behaviors together create a recipe for overeating and, potentially, weight gain down the line.
Additionally, the research, a collaborative effort involving experts from Aston University, Loughborough University, Kings College London, and University College London (UCL), underscores notable variations in both kids’ temperaments and how caregivers handle feeding across the four eating styles.
For instance, parents of “avid” eaters are more prone to using food as an emotional tool or limiting food for health purposes. Also, kids with “avid” eating patterns usually have less stable access to food compared to those who fall into the “happy” or “typical” categories.
These findings have pushed the research team to stress the importance of creating targeted intervention strategies.
Oksana Kuzmina – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Whilst feeding practices are key intervention targets to change children’s eating behavior and child weight outcomes, there has been little evaluation of how feeding practices interact with children’s food approach behaviors to predict eating behavior,” detailed Jackie Blissett, the study’s principal investigator.
She further noted that current guidelines provided to the public are ambiguous and don’t take into consideration how children’s appetites vary. This often leaves caregivers frustrated as they try to navigate managing their kid’s food consumption.
So, to better address these concerns, the researchers hope to give parents guidance that is more personalized.
“Parents can use this research to help them understand what type of eating pattern their child presents. Then, based on the child’s eating profile, the parent can adapt their feeding strategies to the child,” explained Dr. Abigail Pickard of the School of Psychology at Ashton University.
“For example, children in the avid eating profile may benefit more from the covert restriction of food, i.e., not bringing snacks into the home or not having foods on display, to reduce the temptation to eat foods in the absence of hunger,” Dr. Pickard continued.
“Whereas, if a child shows fussy eating behavior, it would be more beneficial for the child to have a balanced and varied selection of foods on show to promote trying foods without pressure to eat.”
The team also intends to conduct more in-depth studies on “avid” eating habits, involving parents and their kids in specialized eating behavior labs at Ashton University. The aim is to get a closer look at both “avid” and “typical” eating tendencies as they occur in everyday situations.
The end goal is to work hand-in-hand with parents to create actionable guidelines aimed at cutting down on kids’ intake of tasty but not-so-healthy snacks.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Appetite, visit the link here.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
“Breadcrumbing” Is The Latest Dating Red Flag: Here’s How To Recognize It And Break The Cycle
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Science