Fitness, physical activity and BMI in 5- to 6-year-old children; cross-sectional analysis on a sub-sample of children from the WAVES study, UK

Abstract

Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) is a behavioural trait referring to children’s susceptibility to eating when sated, in response to the presence of palatable snack foods. No study has yet examined whether television (TV) food advertising may provoke EAH behaviours in children. Research has found that exposure to TV food advertising increases food intake in children and that this increase is largest in the obese and thosewith higher habitual exposure to TV adverts. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of TV food adverts in relation to differences in physiological state to observe EAH differences in children. Using a mixed-measures designwith one between-subjects factor (physiological state; hungry or sated) and one within-subjects factor (advert condition; food or non-food), 110 children aged 7–11 were tested on two occasions. Participants were exposed to each of the two types of adverts (in a counterbalanced order) before being given the opportunity to eat ad libitum from a selection of snacks. Height and weight measurements were taken and parental measures of habitual TV exposure collected. Preliminary data show a trend towards significance for increased consumption in the sated group after food advert exposure compared with toy adverts (10 kcal increase; p = 0.407). Sated overweight/obese children showed a significant increase in food consumption after watching TV food adverts compared with toy adverts (25 g increase; p = 0.048). This study may demonstrate that TV adverts serve as food cues triggering consumption in children who are already satisfied.