Abstract
There has been increasing concern expressed about children’s food intakes and dietary patterns. These are closely linked to children’s appetitive traits (such as disinhibited eating and food fussiness/neophobia). Research has examined both biological and psychosocial correlates or predictors of these traits. There has been less focus on possible processes or mechanisms associated with children’s development of these traits and research that links biological and psychosocial factors. There is an absence of research that links biological and psychosocial factors. In the present article, we outline a model intended to facilitate theory and research on the development of appetitive traits. It is based on scholarship from developmental theory and research and incorporates biological factors such as genetic predispositions and temperament as well as psychosocial factors in terms of parent cognitions, feeding styles and feeding practices. Particular attention is directed to aspects such as emotional eating and feeding, self-regulation of energy intake, and non-shared family environments. We highlight the opportunity for longitudinal research that examines bidirectional, transactional and cascade processes and uses a developmental framework. The model provides a basis for connecting the biological foundations of appetitive traits to system-level analysis in the family. Knowledge generated through the application of the model should lead to more effective prevention and intervention initiatives.
Highlights
In contrast to dietary recommendations worldwide, large proportions of children consume lower than recommended amounts of, fruit, whole grains, low fat dairy and vegetables, together with higher than recommended amounts of refined grains, saturated fat, added sugars and sodium [1,2,3].Children’s appetitive traits are one of a wide range of factors that influence children’s food intakes and dietary patterns
Whether the biologically-based risk is translated into a developmental outcome such as an appetitive trait is dependent on environmental factors, and psychosocial processes
We examined the research on the development of appetitive traits against the biopsychosocial approach and associated influence processes
Summary
In contrast to dietary recommendations worldwide, large proportions of children consume lower than recommended amounts of, fruit, whole grains, low fat dairy and vegetables, together with higher than recommended amounts of refined grains, saturated fat, added sugars and sodium [1,2,3]. While research and theory about the development of children’s eating and weight has incorporated both biological and psychosocial processes relatively recently, this emphasis has been established in the field of developmental science, child development and socialization for decades. Our approach was to examine the body of theory and research on the origins of children’s weight and eating through the lens of the more extensive scholarship in developmental science Based on this examination we propose a process model of the development of appetitive traits. The components and themes of this model shape the subsequent sections of the paper
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