Russell Catherine G, Russell Alan
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia.
College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5001, Australia.
Nutr Rev. 2025 Jan 22. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuae220.
The purpose of the present narrative review was to propose a unifying generalized conceptual model of mechanisms and processes in appetite self-regulation (ASR) in childhood. Appetite self-regulation, along with other domains of self-regulation, develops across childhood and contributes to energy intake and balance, diet quality, weight, and therefore long-term health outcomes. There have been efforts to conceptualize and measure components of ASR and associated processes/mechanisms, but, at present, there is no unifying conceptualization of ASR in childhood. A search of key databases supplemented by snowballing was undertaken for definitions/conceptions and theoretical models of ASR with a focus on children. An interpretive synthesis approach was used to identify themes from the definitions and models. The themes formed the basis of the proposed unifying generalized model of ASR in childhood, which is the main contribution of the article. At the center of the model is bottom-up reactivity to food, food cues and hunger, satiation and satiety signals, together with top-down regulatory control. An additional contribution is the proposed 5 interacting and overlapping domains (biological, hedonics, cognitive, behavioral, and traits) that function in and influence both bottom-up reactivity and top-down regulation. The domains also contribute to ASR outcomes of enactment and competence. External contextual and intrapersonal factors are conceived as impacting the domains and the bottom-up, top-down processes. The relevance of the model for explanations of ASR phenomena in childhood and children's food choice and diet quality, as well as its implications for research directions and approaches to preventive intervention, including food parenting practices, are discussed. The model provides a framework for researchers and practitioners to support and interpret children's problems and competence in self-directing food choices, energy intake, and nutrition.
本叙述性综述的目的是提出一个关于儿童食欲自我调节（ASR）机制和过程的统一广义概念模型。食欲自我调节与自我调节的其他领域一样，在整个儿童期发展，并有助于能量摄入与平衡、饮食质量、体重，进而影响长期健康结果。已有研究尝试对ASR的组成部分以及相关过程/机制进行概念化和测量，但目前尚无关于儿童期ASR的统一概念。通过对关键数据库进行检索，并辅以滚雪球式搜索，以查找ASR的定义/概念及理论模型，重点关注儿童。采用解释性综合方法从定义和模型中识别主题。这些主题构成了所提出的儿童期ASR统一广义模型的基础，这也是本文的主要贡献。该模型的核心是对食物、食物线索以及饥饿、饱腹感和饱足感信号的自下而上反应，以及自上而下的调节控制。另一贡献是提出了5个相互作用且重叠的领域（生物学、享乐主义、认知、行为和特质），它们在自下而上的反应和自上而下的调节中发挥作用并产生影响。这些领域也有助于实现ASR的行为表现和能力结果。外部情境因素和个人内部因素被认为会影响这些领域以及自下而上、自上而下的过程。文中讨论了该模型对解释儿童期ASR现象、儿童食物选择和饮食质量的相关性，以及其对研究方向和预防性干预方法（包括食物养育方式）的启示。该模型为研究人员和从业者提供了一个框架，以支持和解释儿童在自主选择食物、能量摄入和营养方面的问题及能力。
