Emotional over- and under-eating in early childhood are learned not inherited

Abstract

Emotional overeating (EOE) has been associated with increased obesity risk, while emotional undereating (EUE) may be protective. Interestingly, EOE and EUE tend to correlate positively, but it is unclear whether they reflect different aspects of the same underlying trait, or are distinct behaviours with different aetiologies. Data were from 2054 five-year-old children from the Gemini twin birth cohort, including parental ratings of child EOE and EUE using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Genetic and environmental influences on variation and covariation in EUE and EOE were established using a bivariate Twin Model. Variation in both behaviours was largely explained by aspects of the environment completely shared by twin pairs (EOE: C = 90%, 95% CI: 89%-92%; EUE: C = 91%, 95% CI: 90%-92%). Genetic influence was low (EOE: A = 7%, 95% CI: 6%-9%; EUE: A = 7%, 95% CI: 6%-9%). EOE and EUE correlated positively (r = 0.43, p < 0.001), and this association was explained by common shared environmental influences (BivC = 45%, 95% CI: 40%-50%). Many of the shared environmental influences underlying EUE and EOE were the same (rC = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.55). Childhood EOE and EUE are etiologically distinct. The tendency to eat more or less in response to emotion is learned rather than inherited.

A biopsychosocial approach to processes and pathways in the development of overweight and obesity in childhood: Insights from developmental theory and research

“…Other research has examined and reported possible differences in processes between boys and girls . Finally, at times, sex/gender differences have not been found and/or data for boys and girls have been combined . There appears to be no consistent position in the literature in relation to possible sex/gender differences in processes and pathways to OW/OB in childhood.…”

“…The model in Figure recognizes the role of parental influences on the development of OW/OB in childhood. The contribution of these psychosocial processes is prominent in the developmental literature and scholarship on the development of children's eating and weight . A biopsychosocial approach emphasizes the need to integrate these psychosocial influences with child biological factors.…”

“…Under the category of nonhomeostatic aspects of food intake, Berthoud and Gearhardt include rewards and pleasure from eating, cognitive factors associated with food and eating, emotional factors, and environmental cues. These questions implicate matters such as access to highly palatable and energy‐dense foods as well as the development of disinhibited eating (for example, eating in the absence of hunger and emotional eating) and the possible role of parent practices and the family environment . Evidence that children low on temperamental soothability are more likely to increase emotional overeating during middle childhood suggests a role for temperament in self‐regulation difficulties.…”

Emotional Over‐ and Undereating in Children: A Longitudinal Analysis of Child and Contextual Predictors

“…Such adverse effects on health underscore the importance of understanding the etiology of these eating behaviors, but unfortunately, research on their precursors is lacking. Notably, the results of two recent twin studies showed that the shared family environment plays an important role in shaping both emotional over‐ and undereating (Herle, Fildes, Rijsdijk, Steinsbekk, & Llewellyn, ; Herle, Fildes, Steinsbekk, Rijsdijk, & Llewellyn, ). What the twin studies could not illuminate, however, were the specific nongenetic factors that might influence emotional over‐ and undereating.…”

“…However, the most natural response to emotional distress is to eat less due to biological mechanisms: Gut activity decreases in the presence of emotional arousal, which suppresses hunger (van Strien & Ouwens, ). Given that emotional over‐ and undereating have some common etiology (Herle, Fildes, Steinsbekk, et al., ) and tend to be positively associated with each other (Herle, Fildes, Steinsbekk, et al., ; Wardle et al., ), it is reasonable to assume that overlapping etiological forces are at play in both eating behaviors.…”