Home Childhood obesity and eating behaviour
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Childhood obesity and eating behaviour

  • Ana María Obregón EMAIL logo , Paulina P. Pettinelli and Jose Luis Santos
Published/Copyright: November 12, 2014

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased substantially in the recent decade as a result of the reduction in physical activity and the availability of high-fat and high-energy-density foods which the paediatric population faces daily. Although children are highly exposed to these foods, there is a wide variation in body weight, suggesting the presence of different patterns of response to an “obesogenic” environment. This wide variability from the point of view of eating behaviour involves a number of social issues (e.g., food availability, cost) as well as genuine behavioural traits such as the response to satiety, energy compensation, eating rate, responsiveness to food, food reward and dietary preferences. This article reviews the main physiological variables related to energy intake affecting eating behaviour in the paediatric population.


Corresponding author: Dr. Ana María Obregón, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine, San Sebastian University, General Cruz 1577, Concepción, Chile, Phone: +56-41-2487254, E-mail: ;

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude for the funding given by the National Fund of Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT INITIATION 11130200 and REGULAR FONDECYT 1060105 and 1090020).

Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

1. Santos JL, Martinez J, Perez F, Albala C. Genetic epidemiology of obesity: family studies. Rev Med Chil 2005;133:349–61.10.4067/S0034-98872005000300012Search in Google Scholar

2. Pi-Sunyer FX. Medical hazards of obesity. Ann Intern Med 1993;119(Pt 2):655–60.10.7326/0003-4819-119-7_Part_2-199310011-00006Search in Google Scholar

3. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007–2008. J Am Med Assoc 2010;303:242–9.10.1001/jama.2009.2012Search in Google Scholar

4. Kain J, Uauy R, Lera L, Taibo M, Espejo F, et al. Evolution of the nutritional status of six years old Chilean children (1987–2003). Rev Med Chil 2005;133:1013–20.Search in Google Scholar

5. Swinburn BA, Sacks G, Hall KD, McPherson K, Finegood DT, et al. The global obesity pandemic: shaped by global drivers and local environments. Lancet 2011;378:804–14.10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60813-1Search in Google Scholar

6. Kain J, Vio F, Albala C. Obesity trends and determinant factors in Latin America. Cad Saude Publica 2003;19(Suppl 1):S77–86.10.1590/S0102-311X2003000700009Search in Google Scholar PubMed

7. Vio, F, Salinas J. Health promotion and quality of life in Chile: new policy challenges. Rev Chil Nutr 2006;33:252–64.Search in Google Scholar

8. Carnell S, Wardle J. Appetitive traits and child obesity: measurement, origins and implications for intervention. Proc Nutr Soc 2008;67:343–55.10.1017/S0029665108008641Search in Google Scholar PubMed

9. Carnell S, Haworth CM, Plomin R, Wardle J. Genetic influence on appetite in children. Int J Obes 2008;32:1468–73.10.1038/ijo.2008.127Search in Google Scholar PubMed

10. Wardle J, Carnell S, Haworth CM, Plomin R. Evidence for a strong genetic influence on childhood adiposity despite the force of the obesogenic environment. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:398–404.10.1093/ajcn/87.2.398Search in Google Scholar PubMed

11. Santos JL, Ho-Urriola J, González A, Smalley SV, Weisstaub G, et al. Association between eating behaviour scores and obesity in Chilean children. Nutr J 2011;11;10:108.10.1186/1475-2891-10-108Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

12. Benelam B. Satiation, satiety and their effects on eating behaviour. Nutr. Bulletin 2009;34:126–73.Search in Google Scholar

13. Birch LL, Fisher JO. Mothers’ child-feeding practices influence daughters’ eating and weight. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:1054–61.10.1093/ajcn/71.5.1054Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

14. Jansen A, Theunissen N, Slechten K, Nederkoorn C, Boon B, et al. Overweight children overeat after exposure to food cues. Eat Behav 2003;4:197–209.10.1016/S1471-0153(03)00011-4Search in Google Scholar

15. Johnson SL, Birch LL. Parents’ and children’s adiposity and eating style. Pediatrics 1994;94:653–61.10.1542/peds.94.5.653Search in Google Scholar

16. Cecil JE, Palmer CN, Wrieden W, Murrie I, Bolton-Smith C, et al. Energy intakes of children after preloads: adjustment, not compensation. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;82:302–8.10.1093/ajcn/82.2.302Search in Google Scholar

17. Johnson SL, Taylor-Holloway LA. Non-hispanic white and hispanic elementary school children’s self-regulation of energy intake. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83:1276–82.10.1093/ajcn/83.6.1276Search in Google Scholar PubMed

18. Hetherington MM, Wood C, Lyburn SC. Response to energy dilution in the short term: evidence of nutritional wisdom in young children? Nutr Neurosci 2000;3:321–9.10.1080/1028415X.2000.11747329Search in Google Scholar PubMed

19. Kral TV, Allison DB, Birch LL, Stallings VA, Moore RH, et al. Caloric compensation and eating in the absence of hunger in 5–12 y-old weight discordant siblings. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96:574–83.10.3945/ajcn.112.037952Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

20. Ebbeling CB, Sinclair KB, Pereira MA, Garcia-Lago E, Feldman HA, et al. Compensation for energy intake from fast food among overweight and lean adolescents. J Am Med Assoc 2004;291:2828–33.10.1001/jama.291.23.2828Search in Google Scholar PubMed

21. Francis LA, Birch LL. Does eating during television viewing affect preschool children’s intake? J Am Diet Assoc 2006;106:598–600.10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.008Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

22. Bellissimo N, Pencharz PB, Thomas SG, Anderson GH. Effect of television viewing at mealtime on food intake after glucose preload in boys. Pediatr Res 2007;61:745–9.10.1203/pdr.0b013e3180536591Search in Google Scholar PubMed

23. Llewellyn CH, van Jaarsveld CH, Boniface D, Carnell S, Wardle J. Eating rate is a heritable phenotype related to weight in children. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:1560–6.10.3945/ajcn.2008.26175Search in Google Scholar PubMed

24. Drabman RS, Cordua GD, Hammer D, Jarvie GJ, Horton W. Developmental trends in eating rates of normal and overweight preschool children. Child Dev 1979;50:211–6.10.2307/1129058Search in Google Scholar

25. Barkeling B, Ekman S, Rössner S. Eating behaviour in obese and normal weight 11-year-old children. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1992;16:355–60.Search in Google Scholar

26. Agras WS, Kraemer HC, Berkowitz RI, Hammer LD. Influence of early feeding style on adiposity at 6 years of age. J Pediatr 1990;116:805–9.10.1016/S0022-3476(05)82677-0Search in Google Scholar

27. Meyer JE, Pudel V. Experimental studies on food-intake in obese and normal weight subjects. J Psychosom Res 1972;16:305–8.10.1016/0022-3999(72)90014-1Search in Google Scholar

28. Otsuka R, Tamakoshi K, Yatsuya H, Murata C, Sekiya A, et al. Eating fast leads to obesity: findings based on self-administered questionnaires among middle-aged Japanese men and women. J Epidemiol 2006;16:117–24.10.2188/jea.16.117Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

29. Sasaki S, Katagiri A, Tsuji T, Shimoda T, Amano K. Self-reported rate of eating correlates with body mass index in 18-y-old Japanese women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2003;27:1405–10.10.1038/sj.ijo.0802425Search in Google Scholar PubMed

30. Epstein LH, Paluch R, Coleman KJ. Differences in salivation to repeated food cues in obese and nonobese women. Psychosom Med 1996;58:160–4.10.1097/00006842-199603000-00011Search in Google Scholar PubMed

31. Fisher JO, Birch LL. Eating in the absence of hunger and overweight in girls from 5 to 7 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:226–31.10.1093/ajcn/76.1.226Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

32. Fisher JO, Cai G, Jaramillo SJ, Cole SA, Comuzzie AG, et al. Heritability of hyperphagic eating behavior and appetite-related hormones among Hispanic children. Obesity 2007;15:1484–95.10.1038/oby.2007.177Search in Google Scholar PubMed

33. Moens E, Braet C. Predictors of disinhibited eating in children with and without overweight. Behav Res Ther 2007;45:1357–68.10.1016/j.brat.2006.10.001Search in Google Scholar PubMed

34. Butte NF, Cai G, Cole SA, Wilson TA, Fisher JO, et al. Metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children: the Viva la Familia Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1478–85.10.1093/ajcn/85.6.1478Search in Google Scholar PubMed

35. Hill C, Llewellyn CH, Saxton J, Webber L, Semmler C, et al. Adiposity and ‘eating in the absence of hunger’ in children. Int J Obes 2008;32:1499–505.10.1038/ijo.2008.113Search in Google Scholar

36. Zocca JM, Shomaker LB, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Columbo KM, Raciti GR, et al. Links between mothers’ and children’s disinhibited eating and children’s adiposity. Appetite 2011;56:324–31.10.1016/j.appet.2010.12.014Search in Google Scholar

37. Birch LL, Fisher JO, Davison KK. Learning to overeat: maternal use of restrictive feeding practices promotes girls’ eating in the absence of hunger. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:215–20.10.1093/ajcn/78.2.215Search in Google Scholar

38. Bruce AS, Holsen LM, Chambers RJ, Martin LE, Brooks WM, et al. Obese children show hyperactivation to food pictures in brain networks linked to motivation, reward and cognitive control. Int J Obes 2010;34:1494–500.10.1038/ijo.2010.84Search in Google Scholar

39. Cabanac M, Johnson KG. Analysis of a conflict between palatability and cold exposure in rats. Physiol Behav 1983;31:249–53.10.1016/0031-9384(83)90128-2Search in Google Scholar

40. Foo H, Mason P. Sensory suppression during feeding. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005;102:16865–9.10.1073/pnas.0506226102Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

41. Oswald KD, Murdaugh DL, King VL, Boggiano MM. Motivation for palatable food despite consequences in an animal model of binge eating. Int J Eat Disord 2011;44:203–11.10.1002/eat.20808Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

42. Shomaker LB, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Zocca JM, Courville A, Kozlosky M, et al. Eating in the absence of hunger in adolescents: intake after a large-array meal compared with that after a standardized meal. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92:697–703.10.3945/ajcn.2010.29812Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

43. Kenny PJ. Reward mechanisms in obesity: new insights and future directions. Neuron 2011;69:664–79.10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.016Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

44. Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH. Intense sweetness surpasses cocaine reward. PLoS One 2007;1;2:e698.10.1371/journal.pone.0000698Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

45. Lutter M, Nestler EJ. Homeostatic and hedonic signals interact in the regulation of food intake. J Nutr 2009;139:629–32.10.3945/jn.108.097618Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

46. Nestler EJ. Molecular basis of long-term plasticity underlying addiction. Nat Rev Neurosci 2001;2:119–28.10.1038/35053570Search in Google Scholar PubMed

47. Baik JH. Dopamine signaling in food addiction: role of dopamine D2 receptors. BMB Rep 2013;46:519–26.10.5483/BMBRep.2013.46.11.207Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

48. Holsen LM, Zarcone JR, Thompson TI, Brooks WM, Anderson MF, et al. Neural mechanisms underlying food motivation in children and adolescents. Neuroimage 2005;27:669–76.10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.04.043Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

49. Temple JL, Legierski CM, Giacomelli AM, Salvy SJ, Epstein LH. Overweight children find food more reinforcing and consume more energy than do nonoverweight children. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1121–7.10.1093/ajcn/87.5.1121Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

50. Van den Berg L, Pieterse K, Malik JA, Luman M, Willems van Dijk K, et al. Association between impulsivity, reward responsiveness and body mass index in children. Int J Obes 2011;35:1301–7.10.1038/ijo.2011.116Search in Google Scholar PubMed

51. Stice E, Spoor S, Bohon C, Veldhuizen MG, Small DM. Relation of reward from food intake and anticipated food intake to obesity: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Abnorm Psychol 2008;117:924–35.10.1037/a0013600Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

52. Saelens BE, Epstein LH. Reinforcing value of food in obese and non-obese women. Appetite 1996;27:41–50.10.1006/appe.1996.0032Search in Google Scholar PubMed

53. Hill C, Saxton J, Webber L, Blundell J, Wardle J. The relative reinforcing value of food predicts weight gain in a longitudinal study of 7–10-y-old children. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;90:276–81.10.3945/ajcn.2009.27479Search in Google Scholar PubMed

54. Phan KL, Wager T, Taylor SF, Liberzon I. Functional neuroanatomy of emotion: a meta-analysis of emotion activation studies in PET and fMRI. Neuroimage 2002;16:331–48.10.1006/nimg.2002.1087Search in Google Scholar PubMed

55. Berthoud HR. Homeostatic and non-homeostatic pathways involved in the control of food intake and energy balance. Obesity 2006;14(Suppl 5):197S–200S.10.1038/oby.2006.308Search in Google Scholar

56. Saper CB, Chou TC, Elmquist JK. The need to feed: homeostatic and hedonic control of eating. Neuron 2002;10;36:199–211.10.1016/S0896-6273(02)00969-8Search in Google Scholar

57. Grill HJ, Skibicka KP, Hayes MR. Imaging obesity: fMRI, food reward, and feeding. Cell Metab 2007;6:423–5.10.1016/j.cmet.2007.11.007Search in Google Scholar

58. Farooqi IS, Bullmore E, Keogh J, Gillard J, O’Rahilly S, et al. Leptin regulates striatal regions and human eating behaviour. Science 2007;7;317:1355.10.1126/science.1144599Search in Google Scholar

59. Abizaid A, Horvath TL. Brain circuits regulating energy homeostasis. Regul Pept 2008 7;149:3–10.10.1016/j.regpep.2007.10.006Search in Google Scholar

60. Wardle J, Cooke L. Genetic and environmental determinants of children’s food preferences. Br J Nutr 2008;99(Suppl 1):S15–21.10.1017/S000711450889246XSearch in Google Scholar

61. Harris G, Thomas A, Booth DA. Development of salt taste preference in infancy. Dev Psychol 1990;26:534–8.10.1037/0012-1649.26.4.534Search in Google Scholar

62. Beauchamp GK, Pearson P. Human development and umami taste. Physiol Behav 1991;49:1009–12.10.1016/0031-9384(91)90215-ASearch in Google Scholar

63. Gibson E, Wardle J. Energy density predicts preferences for fruit and vegetables in 4 years old children. Appetite 2003;41:97–8.10.1016/S0195-6663(03)00077-1Search in Google Scholar

64. Birch LL. Dimensions of preschool children’s food preferences. J Nutr Educ 1979;11:77–80.10.1016/S0022-3182(79)80089-8Search in Google Scholar

65. Visalberghi E, Addessi E. Seeing group members eating a familiar food enhances the acceptance of novel foods in capuchin monkeys. Anim Behav 2000;60:69–76.10.1006/anbe.2000.1425Search in Google Scholar PubMed

66. Addessi E, Galloway AT, Visalberghi E, Birch LL. Specific social influence on the acceptance of novel foods in 2–5-year-old children. Appetite 2005;45:264–71.10.1016/j.appet.2005.07.007Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Received: 2014-5-27
Accepted: 2014-9-29
Published Online: 2014-11-12
Published in Print: 2015-5-1

©2015 by De Gruyter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Highlight: Obesity
  3. Childhood obesity at the crossroads
  4. Obesogenic environments: environmental approaches to obesity prevention
  5. Childhood obesity and eating behaviour
  6. Hypothalamic obesity in children: pathophysiology to clinical management
  7. The reliability of body mass index in the diagnosis of obesity and metabolic risk in children
  8. Determining abdominal obesity cut-offs and relevant risk factors for anthropometric indices in Turkish children and adolescents
  9. The effect of body mass index on blood pressure varies by race among obese children
  10. Insulin secretion response during oral glucose tolerance test is related to low cardiorespiratory fitness in obese adolescents
  11. Is there a relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in childhood obesity?
  12. The effect of lifestyle change and metformin therapy on serum arylesterase and paraoxonase activity in obese children
  13. Childhood obesity, thyroid function, and insulin resistance – is there a link? A longitudinal study
  14. Associations between IGF-I, IGF-binding proteins and bone turnover markers in prepubertal obese children
  15. Osteocalcin is inversely associated with adiposity and leptin in adolescent boys
  16. Association between cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness in prepubertal Brazilian children
  17. Insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese children and adolescents: a hierarchical approach
  18. The role of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in improving dyslipidemia in obese adolescents following physical exercise and National Cholesterol Education Program Step II intervention
  19. Review article
  20. Is ultrasound useful in the diagnosis of adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome?
  21. Original articles
  22. IGF-II expression and methylation in small for gestational age infants
  23. Early screening of FTO and MC4R variants in newborns of Greek origin
  24. Pitfalls in hormonal diagnosis of 17-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase III deficiency
  25. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among schoolchildren: a cohort study from Xinxiang, China
  26. Management of testosterone therapy in adolescents and young men with hypogonadism: are we following adult clinical practice guidelines?
  27. Vitamin D status and its associations with components of metabolic syndrome in healthy children
  28. Metformin treatment improves weight and dyslipidemia in children with metabolic syndrome
  29. Patient reports
  30. Hypothyroidism caused by the combination of two heterozygous mutations: one in the TSH receptor gene the other in the DUOX2 gene
  31. Ovarian carcinoma in a 14-year-old with classical salt-wasting congenital adrenal hyperplasia and bilateral adrenalectomy
  32. An asymptomatic mother diagnosed with 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency after newborn screening
  33. A new missense mutation in the BCKDHB gene causes the classic form of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)
  34. Ovotesticular disorder of sex development with unusual karyotype: patient report
  35. First case report of medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency in China
  36. Virilizing adrenal oncocytoma in a 9-year-old girl: rare neoplasm with an intriguing postoperative course
  37. Unexpected clinical features in a female patient with proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency
  38. Sirolimus therapy in a patient with severe hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia due to a compound heterozygous ABCC8 gene mutation
  39. Cross-reactivity of adrenal steroids with aldosterone may prevent the accurate diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia
  40. Hyperthyroidism hidden by congenital central hypoventilation syndrome
  41. The use of pamidronate for acute vitamin D intoxication, clinical experience with three cases
  42. Chondrocalcinosis related to familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis
  43. Cushing syndrome related to leukemic infiltration of the central nervous system
  44. Hashimoto’s encephalopathy: a rare pediatric brain disease
  45. Short communication
  46. A novel ABCD1 gene mutation in a Chinese patient with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy
Downloaded on 5.11.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jpem-2014-0206/html
Scroll to top button