Temperament and eating self-regulation in young children with or at risk for obesity: An exploratory report.

Abstract

Few studies have examined the relationship between temperament and eating self-regulation in early childhood, despite emerging evidence for associations with pediatric obesity. The aim of this exploratory report was to examine the associations between three eating behaviors and three facets of temperament among 4- to 8-year-olds with or at risk for obesity. Among 28 participants in a family intervention to reduce eating speed, we found at baseline that slower child eating speed was associated with less surgency (r = -.39, p = .04) and higher food responsiveness was associated with higher negative affect (r = .40, p = .03). These findings support the potential yield of integrating temperament with eating self-regulation assessments in studies of early obesity risk. A better understanding is needed regarding ways in which parents differentially feed in response to child temperament.