External responsiveness to food and non-food cues among obese and non-obese children.

External responsiveness to food and non-food cues was studied among 112 obese and 134 non-obese children ranging in age from 42 to 156 months. Subjects viewed five food and five non-food items and stated a preference between an immediate smaller and a delayed larger choice. Young (ages 3-5 years) children's abilities to delay gratification were significantly lower than were those of school children, a finding consistent with research on delay of gratification. Obese subjects at both ages had lower delay scores for immediate gratification on food items than did non-obese subjects. The delay scores of obese and non-obese subjects on non-food items were not significantly different from each other. Results were discussed in terms of the ontogeny of externality.