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Parental reward-based eating drive predicts parents’ feeding behaviors and Children’s ultra-processed food intake
Due to the lack of evidence on the links between child-feeding behaviors, parental reward-based eating, and childhood food consumption, assessing the impact of reward-based eating drivers is not possible. It is plausible that childhood feeding behaviors linked to parental reward-based eating drive are related to consuming hyper-palatable, disorder-inducing ultra-processed foods. In this study by Dolwick & Persky (2021), the authors used virtual reality (VR) to simulate a buffet restaurant environment and monitor how parents choose food for their children, coupled with a food frequency assessment to evaluate the children’s dietary intake over a week. Analysis of the results demonstrated that caloric choices derived from ultra-processed foods were successfully estimated by parental reward-based eating drivers, in addition to successfully estimating the number of calories consumed by children that were derived from ultra-processed foods through the use of the food frequency assessment. Furthermore, the authors noted that these factors were modulated by how healthy the dietary environment in the home is. The authors highlight that their study produced the first piece of evidence on the relationship between child-focused feeding behaviors and parental reward-based eating drivers, and the impact of a healthy food environment in the household. These results may be utilized in enhancing child feeding behavior and child health, and designing family-focused dietary interventions. [NPID: Child feeding practices, eating behavior, home food environment, reward, eating drive, ultra processed foods]
Year: 2021
