food as a reward

Question 1

food as a reward

Answer 1

reward for good behaviour-

Question 2

food to soothe

Answer 2

*Stifter et al. (2011)
* 43 male infants / toddlers (3 – 34 months)
* Questionnaires on use of food to soothe, parent feeding
practices, parenting self-efficacy, child temperament
* Weight and length taken
* Use of food to soothe associated with
* Higher child BMI
* More negative child temperament
* Lower parenting self-efficacy

Question 3

food to soothe part 2-

Answer 3

• Blissett, Haycraft and Farrow (2010)
• 25 children aged 3-5-years
• Ate lunch to satiety
• Allocated to control or negative mood condition (jigsaw, missing piece so did not get food)

➢ Children whose mothers used food to regulate
emotions ate more cookies in the absence of
hunger regardless of condition- other food was available

➢ Children whose mothers used food to regulate
emotions ate more chocolate in the negative mood
condition than in the control condition

Question 4

Non food rewards-

Answer 4

• Incentives can be effective at
• altering children’s food choices
  (Orrell-Valente et al., 2007)
• increasing children’s consumption of foods
  (Baer et al., 1987)
• Significant, sustained increases in liking in
  children praised for repeated tasting of a
  vegetable over 12 days (Cooke et al., 2011)

Question 5

parental behaviours on food

Answer 5

Holley, Haycraft and Farrow (2015)
* 115 parent/child pairs recruited from toddler groups
* 2.5- to 4-year-olds
* Each child assigned a target disliked vegetable
based on parent rankings verified with a taste test
* Experimental group parents: offered child target
vegetable outside of a mealtime for 14 consecutive
days
* Control group: no offerings, just baseline and
follow-up 5 minute free-eating test

.Children’s consumption of a disliked / refused
vegetable can be increased via a 14-day
programme of offering and tasting with
incentives and praise, plus parental modelling
* Although parental modelling may
impact acceptance when combined
with incentives, it does not seem to
be sufficient as a solo method to
achieve tastings

Question 6

avid eaters

Answer 6

Pickard et al., 2023

Four eating profiles emerged from the sample of children: (a) avid eating, (b) avoidant eating, (c) happy eating, and (d) typical eating. Avid eating (21.9% of children) was characterised by higher levels of food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, and emotional over-eating in combination with lower satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating and food fussiness. Children with an avid eating profile were reported to be more surgent and experienced greater food insecurity than all other eating profiles. Parents of children belonging to the avid eating profile showed significantly greater use of food for emotional regulation, varied and balanced food provision, restriction of food for health, and restriction of food for weight feeding practices than the three other eating profiles.

these parents really struggle- more research needed

Question 7

memories of childhood and eating behaviorus

Answer 7

Phul and Schwartz 2003-

Binge eating and dietary restraint in adulthood are significantly related to participants’ recollection of their parents using food to control their behavior in childhood. These results held true regardless of body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, age, or childhood weight status. Discussion: This study suggests that some childhood food rules may have a long-lasting impact on eating behaviors. Further research on the impact of using food to reward and punish children’s behavior is needed to inform recommendations to parents regarding the use of food for behavioral control.

Question 8

child parenting and snacking

Answer 8

Blaine et al., 2017-
Restrictive feeding and home access to unhealthy foods were most consistently associated with snacking among young children

Question 9

parenting styles-

Answer 9

Shloim et al., 2015-

Parenting and Feeding Styles: The study differentiates between parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and uninvolved) and feeding styles within these broader styles, noting that each impacts child weight differently. Authoritative styles, characterized by warmth and consistent guidance, are associated with healthier weight outcomes compared to authoritarian or indulgent styles, which may contribute to weight gain.

Feeding Practices: Specific feeding practices, such as using pressure to eat or restricting certain foods, can influence children’s weight status and eating behaviors. Pressure to eat, often aimed at encouraging children to consume more, was generally associated with lower weight in children, possibly due to its use with picky or underweight children. Restriction of certain foods, on the other hand, may increase children’s interest in those foods, potentially leading to overeating when those foods are accessible.

Context and Consistency: The study emphasizes that consistent feeding practices aligned with authoritative parenting tend to support healthier eating behaviors and weight maintenance in children, while inconsistent or coercive feeding practices may lead to a greater risk of weight gain.