Determinants of children’s eating behavior

Abstract

Parents have a high degree of control over the environments and experiences of their children. Food preferences are shaped by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. This article is a review of current data on effective determinants of children's eating habits. The development of children's food preferences involves a complex interplay of genetic, familial, and environmental factors. There is evidence of a strong genetic influence on appetite traits in children, but environment plays an important role in modeling children's eating behaviors. Parents use a variety of strategies to influence children's eating habits, some of which are counterproductive. Overcontrol, restriction, pressure to eat, and a promise of rewards have negative effects on children's food acceptance. Parents' food preferences and eating behaviors provide an opportunity to model good eating habits. Satiety is closely related to diet composition, and foods with low energy density contribute to prevent overeating. Parents should be informed about the consequences of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle and motivated to change their nutritional habits. Parents should be the target of prevention programs because children model themselves on their parents' eating behaviors, lifestyles, eating-related attitudes, and dissatisfaction regarding body image. Pediatricians can have an important role in the prevention of diet-related diseases. Informed and motivated parents can become a model for children by offering a healthy, high-satiety, low-energy-dense diet and promoting self-regulation from the first years of life.

Perilaku makan berlebih dan hubungannya dengan kegemukan pada anak prasekolah

“…Untuk perilaku enjoyment of food, umumnya mulai meningkat di usia 12 bulan dan terjadi penurunan di usia 5-6 tahun (16,23,25). Berdasarkan beberapa penelitian, perbedaan perilaku makan setiap anak dipengaruhi oleh faktor genetik, perilaku pemberian makan, pola asuh, perilaku makan orangtua, dan lingkungan obesogenik (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31).…”

“…Faktor genetik diketahui dapat memengaruhi perilaku makan pada anak, khususnya gen FTO (Fat mass obesity) yang berperan dalam mengontrol asupan makanan dan pilihan makanan (16,24,31). Selain itu, perilaku orangtua juga dapat memengaruhi perilaku makan anak yaitu melalui perilaku pemberian makan, dan perilaku makan orangtua (27,28,30,(35)(36)(37)(38).…”

An obesogenic island in the Mediterranean: mapping potential drivers of obesity in Malta

“…Factors affecting nutrition Children tend to have limited autonomy in their food intake and physical activity levels, with the majority of their choices determined by their parents and immediate family, and to a lesser extent their peers (71) . A study on Maltese 8-10-year-olds showed that children most liked eating pasta, pizza, chips, fruit and burgers, while their least liked foods were vegetables, meat, fish, soup and fruit (57) .…”

Narratives of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders: focus on eating behavior

“…Studies that analyzed the formation of eating habits have shown that the parents exert a significant influence on the development of their children's behavior. [24][25][26] Skinner et al 27 analyzed children's food preferences and found that the mothers did not offer their children food that they themselves did not like, and that the children were less likely to reject the food that their mothers most enjoyed.…”