Musher-Eizenman Dara R, Marx Jenna M, Taylor Maija B
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
Appetite. 2015 Feb;85:66-9. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.11.013. Epub 2014 Nov 15.
This study examined whether young children include eating in their cognitive scripts for various events, and whether food-related scripts are associated with body mass index (BMI) percentile. Data were collected in a structured interview format. Participants, recruited from area preschools and day cares, provided a four-activity sequence for each of three events, and responses were recorded verbatim. Forty-four children (45% female) participated, with an average BMI percentile of 73.3% (SD = 25.9). Data were binarily coded to indicate whether each response was food-related. Frequencies were obtained, and responses were correlated with BMI percentile. Over 22% of the activities in the children's scripts involved food. The number of food-related activities reported was positively correlated with children's BMI percentile (r = 0.53, p = 0.03). Results provide preliminary evidence that food features prominently in young children's event scripts and that children with higher BMI percentiles may possess scripts that feature more food-related themes. Future researchers should investigate the causal nature of this relationship.
本研究考察了幼儿在其针对各种事件的认知脚本中是否纳入饮食内容，以及与食物相关的脚本是否与体重指数（BMI）百分位数相关。数据通过结构化访谈的形式收集。从当地幼儿园和日托中心招募的参与者针对三个事件中的每一个提供了一个包含四项活动的序列，并逐字记录了他们的回答。44名儿童（45%为女性）参与了研究，其BMI百分位数平均为73.3%（标准差=25.9）。对数据进行二元编码，以表明每个回答是否与食物相关。统计了出现的频次，并将回答与BMI百分位数进行了相关性分析。儿童脚本中超过22%的活动与食物有关。报告的与食物相关的活动数量与儿童的BMI百分位数呈正相关（r=0.53，p=0.03）。研究结果提供了初步证据，表明食物在幼儿的事件脚本中占据显著位置，且BMI百分位数较高的儿童可能拥有更多以食物相关主题为特色的脚本。未来的研究人员应探究这种关系的因果性质。
