Powell Elisabeth M, Frankel Leslie A, Hernandez Daphne C
University of Houston, Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences, 491 Farish Hall, Houston, TX 77204, United States.
University of Houston, Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences, 491 Farish Hall, Houston, TX 77204, United States.
Appetite. 2017 Jun 1;113:78-83. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.02.017. Epub 2017 Feb 16.
Emotional eating, or eating in response to negative emotions rather than internal hunger cues, has been related to many maladaptive eating patterns that contribute to weight gain and obesity. The parent feeding practice of use of food as a reward is positively associated with children emotionally overeating, yet, little is known as to the potential behavioral mechanism linking these behaviors. The current study examined the mediating role of child self-regulation of eating in the relationship between parental use of food as a reward and child emotional overeating. Parents of preschool aged children (n = 254) completed online questionnaires targeting parent feeding practices, child eating behaviors, and child self-regulation in eating. Mediation was assessed with Hayes' PROCESS macros in SPSS. Results demonstrated that the relationship between parental use of food as a reward and child emotional overeating was partially mediated by child self-regulation in eating, even after controlling for parent and child gender, household income, and race/ethnicity. In summary, parental use of food as a reward leads to children's diminished ability to regulate intake, which then leads to increased emotional over eating. Results of this study have implications for both the prevention of disordered eating behaviors and childhood obesity prevention programs, suggesting the need to assist children in learning how to self-regulate in the presence of food.
情绪化进食，即因负面情绪而非内在饥饿信号而进食，与许多导致体重增加和肥胖的不良饮食习惯有关。将食物作为奖励的父母喂养方式与孩子的情绪化暴饮暴食呈正相关，然而，对于连接这些行为的潜在行为机制却知之甚少。当前的研究考察了儿童饮食自我调节在父母将食物作为奖励与儿童情绪化暴饮暴食之间关系中的中介作用。学龄前儿童的父母（n = 254）完成了针对父母喂养方式、儿童饮食行为和儿童饮食自我调节的在线问卷。使用SPSS中的Hayes PROCESS宏程序评估中介作用。结果表明，即使在控制了父母和孩子的性别、家庭收入以及种族/民族之后，父母将食物作为奖励与儿童情绪化暴饮暴食之间的关系部分是由儿童饮食自我调节介导的。总之，父母将食物作为奖励会导致孩子调节摄入量的能力下降，进而导致情绪化暴饮暴食增加。这项研究的结果对饮食失调行为的预防和儿童肥胖预防计划都有启示，表明需要帮助儿童学习如何在有食物的情况下进行自我调节。
