Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZ 4K3, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Appetite. 2016 May 1;100:189-96. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.028. Epub 2016 Feb 17.
In the current study, the associations of reward sensitivity with weight related behaviors and body mass index were investigated in a general population sample of 443 Flemish children (50.3% boys) aged 5.5-12 years. Cross-sectional data on palatable food consumption frequency, screen time, physical activity, parental education level and measured length and weight were collected. The Drive subscale of the 'Behavioral Inhibition Scale/Behavioral Activation Scale' was used as a short method to measure reward sensitivity. A significant positive association of reward sensitivity with the fast food and sweet drink consumption frequency was found. Furthermore, a significant positive association of reward sensitivity with the z-score of body mass index was demonstrated, which explained additional variance to the variance explained by palatable food consumption frequency, screen time, physical activity and parental education level. Hence, the assessment of reward sensitivity may have an added value to the assessment of weight-related behavior indicators when evaluating the determinants of overweight in a child. In sum, children high in reward sensitivity might be more attracted to fast food and sweet drinks, and hence, might be more vulnerable to develop unfavorable food habits and overweight. These findings suggest that considering inter-individual differences in reward sensitivity is of importance in future childhood obesity prevention campaigns.
在这项研究中，我们在一个由 443 名佛兰芒儿童（50.3%为男孩）组成的一般人群样本中，调查了奖励敏感性与体重相关行为和体重指数之间的关系。这些儿童的年龄在 5.5-12 岁之间。我们收集了横断面数据，包括美味食物的消费频率、屏幕时间、身体活动、父母的教育水平以及测量的身高和体重。使用“行为抑制量表/行为激活量表”的驱动分量表作为测量奖励敏感性的简短方法。研究发现，奖励敏感性与快餐和甜饮料的消费频率呈显著正相关。此外，奖励敏感性与体重指数 z 分数呈显著正相关，这一相关性可以解释除美味食物消费频率、屏幕时间、身体活动和父母教育水平之外的额外方差。因此，在评估儿童超重的决定因素时，评估奖励敏感性可能对评估与体重相关的行为指标具有附加价值。总之，奖励敏感性高的儿童可能更容易被快餐和甜饮料所吸引，因此更容易养成不良的饮食习惯和超重。这些发现表明，在未来的儿童肥胖预防活动中，考虑个体间奖励敏感性的差异非常重要。
