Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Appetite. 2020 Apr 1;147:104553. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104553. Epub 2019 Dec 10.
Highly processed foods (with added fats and/or refined carbohydrates) may trigger an addictive-like process, including withdrawal when these foods are reduced. Withdrawal is marked by affective, cognitive, and physical symptoms that may hinder dietary change. A recently developed scale of highly processed food withdrawal in adults (ProWS) provides evidence for this construct. Children commonly consume highly processed foods, but no measures currently exist to examine highly processed food withdrawal in children. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure (ProWS-C) to assess for signs of highly processed food withdrawal in children.
Parents who had recently attempted to reduce their child's highly processed food consumption were recruited through an online crowdsourcing platform. 304 parents (56.9% mothers) reported on their 3-11-year-old children (63.8% male). The ProWS-C was designed to reflect parents' observations of child behavior. Internal consistency and validity were evaluated using the Dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 for Children (dYFAS-C 2.0.), Children's Food Neophobia Scale-Modified (CFNS), and body mass index (BMI) silhouettes.
Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor structure with 21 items (α = 0.94). The ProWS-C demonstrated convergent validity with more child food addiction symptoms (r = 0.55, p < 0.001) and higher child BMI (r = 0.24, p < 0.001) and discriminant validity with child food neophobia (r = -0.10, p = 0.08). The ProWS-C was associated with less success in reducing child highly processed food intake independent of child addictive-like eating and BMI (p = 0.001).
The ProWS-C provides preliminary evidence for highly processed food withdrawal in children and appears to be a psychometrically sound tool for assessing parent-reported withdrawal symptoms in children. Illuminating specific challenges families face when reducing highly processed foods may improve parents' ability to help their children make sustainable dietary changes.
高度加工食品（添加脂肪和/或精制碳水化合物）可能引发类似成瘾的过程，当这些食品减少时会出现戒断。戒断的标志是情感、认知和身体症状，这些症状可能会阻碍饮食改变。最近开发的一种成人高度加工食品戒断量表（ProWS）为该结构提供了证据。儿童通常食用高度加工食品，但目前没有评估儿童高度加工食品戒断的措施。本研究的目的是开发一种测量工具（ProWS-C）来评估儿童高度加工食品戒断的迹象。
通过在线众包平台招募最近试图减少孩子高度加工食品摄入量的父母。304 名父母（56.9%为母亲）报告了他们 3-11 岁的孩子（63.8%为男性）的情况。ProWS-C 的设计反映了父母对孩子行为的观察。使用耶鲁儿童食物成瘾量表 2.0 版（dYFAS-C 2.0）、儿童食物恐惧量表修订版（CFNS）和体重指数（BMI）轮廓图评估内部一致性和有效性。
探索性因素分析显示，有 21 项的单因素结构（α=0.94）。ProWS-C 与更多的儿童食物成瘾症状（r=0.55，p<0.001）和更高的儿童 BMI（r=0.24，p<0.001）呈正相关，与儿童食物恐惧（r=-0.10，p=0.08）呈负相关。ProWS-C 与儿童高度加工食品摄入量减少的成功率独立相关，与儿童类似成瘾的进食和 BMI 无关（p=0.001）。
ProWS-C 为儿童高度加工食品戒断提供了初步证据，并且似乎是一种评估父母报告的儿童戒断症状的可靠心理测量工具。阐明家庭在减少高度加工食品时面临的具体挑战可能会提高父母帮助孩子进行可持续饮食改变的能力。
