Naets Tiffany, Vervoort Leentje, Tanghe Ann, De Guchtenaere Ann, Braet Caroline
Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (CCAP) Lab, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Obesity Department, Zeepreventorium vzw, De Haan, Belgium.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Apr 16;11:309. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00309. eCollection 2020.
In order to grasp the complex etiology of childhood obesity, we aim to clarify the relationship between external eating and weight. Based on theory and empirical evidence, we claim that inhibition is an important moderator in this association. In our first research question we expected that high external eating would be related to a higher weight status, especially for those with high inhibition problems. Secondly, we explored the moderating role of inhibition in the association between external eating and weight change after a multidisciplinary obesity treatment.
We investigated n=572 participants (51% boys, aged 7-19) with moderate to extreme obesity recruited in a Belgian inpatient treatment center. At intake, parents reported on inhibition (BRIEF), while the children and adolescents reported on their eating behavior (DEBQ). Weight and length were objectively measured pre and post treatment (ADJUSTED BMI). Two hierarchical linear regression models were built to scrutinize the influence of inhibition on the association between external eating and both baseline weight and weight change.
First, predicting baseline weight, we found no significant moderating effect of inhibition problems. Second, predicting weight loss, inhibition turned out to be a substantial moderator, specifically in adolescents. Some unexpected gender differences occurred in favor of adolescent boys, in a way that those with high external eating and low inhibition problems lost most weight.
Inhibition problems act as a moderator explaining weight loss, but this only holds for adolescents. This suggests that external eating and inhibition play a complex role in weight loss in certain age and gender categories, and stresses the importance of identifying subgroups for tailoring interventions. For those with high inhibition problems, interventions aimed at increasing inhibition skills might be needed to optimize treatment outcomes.
为了掌握儿童肥胖的复杂病因，我们旨在阐明外在饮食与体重之间的关系。基于理论和实证证据，我们认为抑制是这种关联中的一个重要调节因素。在我们的第一个研究问题中，我们预计高外在饮食会与更高的体重状况相关，尤其是对于那些有高抑制问题的人。其次，我们探讨了抑制在多学科肥胖治疗后外在饮食与体重变化之间关联中的调节作用。
我们调查了在比利时一家住院治疗中心招募的n = 572名中度至极度肥胖的参与者（51%为男孩，年龄在7 - 19岁）。在入院时，父母报告抑制情况（使用BRIEF量表），而儿童和青少年报告他们的饮食行为（使用DEBQ量表）。在治疗前后客观测量体重和身高（调整后的BMI）。建立了两个分层线性回归模型，以审视抑制对外在饮食与基线体重及体重变化之间关联的影响。
首先，在预测基线体重时，我们发现抑制问题没有显著的调节作用。其次，在预测体重减轻时，抑制被证明是一个重要的调节因素，特别是在青少年中。出现了一些意外的性别差异，有利于青少年男孩，即那些外在饮食高且抑制问题低的人减重最多。
抑制问题作为一个调节因素解释了体重减轻，但这仅适用于青少年。这表明外在饮食和抑制在特定年龄和性别类别中的体重减轻中起着复杂的作用，并强调了识别亚组以定制干预措施的重要性。对于那些有高抑制问题的人，可能需要旨在提高抑制技能的干预措施来优化治疗效果。
