An investigation of restrictive feeding practices and children’s temperament, food reinforcement, and eating behaviors
Open Access
- Author:
- Rollins, Brandi Yvonne
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- November 15, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Leann L Birch, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Eric Loken, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Rebecca L Corwin, Committee Member
Jennifer Savage Williams, Committee Member
Lori Anne Francis, Committee Member
Lisa Michelle Kopp, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Parental feeding practices
Restriction
Temperament
Inhibitory Control
Food Reinforcement
Reward Sensitivity
BMI
EAH - Abstract:
- Parents’ use of restrictive feeding practices is counterproductive, paradoxically increasing children’s intake of restricted foods and risk for excessive weight gain. However, there is very little evidence for alternative feeding practices that successfully limit children’s intake of palatable snack foods. Most studies to date have taken a one-dimensional, unidirectional approach to the study of restriction, in which low restriction is compared to high restriction and children are viewed primarily as ‘reactors’ to parental restriction. Research is needed to identify feeding practices that are effective yet non-restrictive approaches to limiting children’s intake of palatable snacks. In addition, evidence is needed regarding the characteristics of children who show greater susceptibility to the negative effects of restriction, for whom alternative practices are particularly needed. The aims of the current dissertation were to explore qualitative differences in parental restriction and evaluate individual differences in the effects of different profiles of restrictive feeding practices on children’s eating behaviors and weight status. In Study 1, using a sample of 180 mother-daughter dyads, latent profile analyses revealed four qualitatively distinct profiles of restrictive feeding practices: low restriction, limit setting, moderate restriction, and high restriction; which differed based on their use of limit setting practices and intentionally keeping snack foods out of girls’ physical reach. When parental use of high or low restriction was coupled with lower inhibitory control, girls showed greater increases in weight gain and eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), a measure of dysregulated eating, from ages 5 to 7. In contrast, girls whose parents predominantly used limit setting displayed more modest, normative change in weight status and EAH regardless of level of inhibitory control. In preparation for Study 3, an experimental study in which we examined individual differences in the short-term effects of restricting children’s access to a palatable snack food on their eating behaviors and relative reinforcing value (RRV) of this food, we adapted and validated an RRV of food task for use among preschool children in Study 2. For Study 2, children 3–5 years old completed the RRV of food task, during which they worked for access to palatable snack foods on a progressive ratio schedule where the amount of work increased after each reward was earned. Our findings suggest that the RRV of food task is a valid and developmentally-appropriate measure for assessing the RRV of food among very young children. Study 3 replicated Fisher and Birch’s (1999) study using a sample of 3–5 year old children, demonstrating that restricting children’s access by limiting the amount of time a snack food was available increased children’s intake of this food immediately after it became available to consume, and increased their positive comments, requests, and attempts to access this food while it was being restricted. When examining individual differences in the effects of restriction, greater increases in intake were observed for children with lower inhibitory control, with higher approach, who found the restricted food highly reinforcing, and who had previous experience with a more controlling form of parental restriction. Overall, the results of the present research illustrate that parents may use a variety of restrictive feeding practices in the home, and that the effects of restriction differ for different profiles of restriction used and children’s own characteristics. These results have implications for interventions aiming to identify feeding practices that support the consumption of healthy diets and for limiting children’s intakes of snack foods high in added fat and sugar.