Childhood Eating Behavior and Weight Influence

Childhood eating behaviours encompass a spectrum of appetitive traits that shape energy intake and thereby influence growth trajectories and weight status. These behaviours range from food approach tendencies—such as high enjoyment of food and sensitivity to external cues—to food avoidance traits like satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating. Both genetic predispositions and environmental factors, including parental feeding practices, stress exposures and the broader obesogenic context, interact to modulate these traits from infancy through adolescence. Early identification of maladaptive patterns, such as excessive emotional overeating or low responsiveness to fullness, is critical for the design of interventions that promote self-regulation of appetite and healthy weight gain. Globally, research efforts seek to refine measurement tools, trace developmental trajectories and translate findings into preventative strategies within diverse populations.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have investigated the impact of acute psychosocial stress on eating patterns in adolescents. One large cross-sectional analysis conducted two weeks prior to final examinations revealed that higher perceived stress correlates with greater emotional overeating and food responsiveness. Effects were most pronounced among urban students, females and those with lower body weight. Salivary cortisol measures corroborated self-reported stress levels, highlighting a psychobiological pathway linking stress to food-approach behaviours. These insights underscore the importance of stress management in obesity prevention and suggest targeted support during high-pressure periods.

Childhood Eating Behavior and Weight Influence publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in childhood eating behavior and weight influence across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Appetitive traits: Inherent tendencies towards or against food, such as responsiveness to food cues or sensitivity to fullness.

Food responsiveness: The degree to which external food cues stimulate eating, regardless of internal hunger.

Satiety responsiveness: Sensitivity to internal signals of fullness that prompt cessation of eating.

Emotional overeating: The propensity to consume food in response to negative emotions rather than physiological hunger.

Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ): A parent-report instrument measuring multiple dimensions of children’s eating styles, including both food approach and avoidance traits.

Obesogenic environment: A setting characterised by readily available high-energy foods and sedentary lifestyles, promoting weight gain.

References

1. Eating Behaviours and Dietary Intake in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Current Nutrition Reports (2024).
2. Association between stress and eating behaviour among Malaysian adolescents prior to examination. Scientific Reports (2023).
3. The Development of Appetite: Tracking and Age-Related Differences in Appetitive Traits in Childhood. Nutrients (2023).
4. Eating Behavior and Obesity in a Sample of Spanish Schoolchildren. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023).