The prevalence of obesity and eating disorders varies by sex, but the extent to which sex influences eating behaviors, especially in childhood, has received less attention. The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss the literature on sex differences in eating behavior in children and present new findings supporting the role of sex in child appetitive traits and neural responses to food cues. In children, the literature shows sex differences in food acceptance, food intake, appetitive traits, eating-related compensation, and eating speed. New analyses demonstrate that sex interacts with child weight status to differentially influence appetitive traits. Further, results from neuroimaging suggest that obesity in female children is positively related to neural reactivity to higher-energy-dense food cues in regions involved with contextual processing and object recognition, while the opposite was found in males. In addition to differences in how the brain processes information about food, other factors that may contribute to sex differences include parental feeding practices, societal emphasis on dieting, and peer influences. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings, as they may have implications for the development of effective intervention programs to improve dietary behaviors and prevent obesity.
Increasing childhood obesity rates in both the United States and worldwide demonstrate a need for better prevention and intervention strategies. However, little is understood about what factors influence children's ability to sense and respond to hunger and fullness cues, a critical component of self-regulation of energy intake and maintenance of a healthy body weight. Research in adults suggests that food form may influence self-regulation of energy intake. More specifically, beverages are not as satiating as solid foods when matched for factors such as energy content, energy density, and volume and therefore elicit poorer energy intake self-regulation. However, much less is known about the impact of food form on children's ability to regulate their energy intake. This report describes a study that will examine the relationship between biological, cognitive, and psychological factors and children's appetite self-regulation (ASR). In this registered report, we will examine the influence of food form on children's short-term energy compensation, a proxy indicator of energy intake self-regulation. The study will employ a within-subjects, crossover design in which children (n = 78) ages 4.5–6 years will attend five laboratory visits, each ~1 week apart. During each visit, children will be presented with one of five possible preload conditions: apple slices, apple sauce, apple juice, apple juice sweetened with non-nutritive sweetener (NNS), or no preload. The order of preload conditions will be pseudorandomized and counterbalanced across participants. Following consumption of the preload (or no preload), children will consume a standardized ad libitum test meal of common foods for this age group. We hypothesize that children will demonstrate poorer short-term energy compensation (greater meal intake) in response to the liquid and semi-solid preloads compared to the solid preload. Understanding how energy in various forms affects children's ability to self-regulate intake has implications for dietary recommendations and will help identify those who are most at-risk for poor intake regulation and the development of obesity.
The prevalence of obesity and eating disorders varies by sex, but the extent to which sex influences eating behaviors, especially in childhood, has received less attention. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on sex differences in eating behavior in children and present new findings supporting the role of sex in child appetitive traits and neural responses to food cues. In children, the literature shows sex differences in basic taste response, food acceptance, eating self-regulation, and appetitive traits. New analyses demonstrate that sex interacts with child weight status to differentially influence appetitive traits and neural responses to food cues. Further, neuroimaging results suggest that obesity in female children is positively related to brain reactivity to higher-energy-dense food cues in regions involved with learning, memory, and object recognition, while the opposite was found in males. In addition to differences in how the brain processes information about food, other factors that may contribute to sex differences include parental feeding practices, societal emphasis on dieting, and peer influences. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings, as they may have implications for the development of effective intervention programs to improve dietary behaviors and prevent obesity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.