Poster #33 - Associations between Caregiver Restrictive Feeding Practices and Child Food Responsiveness: The Role of Executive Function

• In Event: Poster Session 12

Abstract

Introduction. Parental feeding practices and child eating behaviors play vital roles in childhood obesity (Faith et al., 2004; Ruzicka et al., 2021). Restrictive feeding (RF), a controlling strategy, has been consistently associated with higher child weight status and risk of obesity (Beckers et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2022). Additionally, parental use of RF is related to dysregulated eating behaviors in children, especially food approach behaviors, such as food responsiveness (FR; Boots et al., 2018; Shi et al., 2017). Theoretical and developmental approaches emphasize bi-directional associations between controlling feeding practices and child eating behaviors, but longitudinal findings are inconsistent (Wang et al., 2022) suggesting that potential mechanisms linking feeding practices to subsequent eating behaviors should be explored. The current study addresses this issue by examining two dimensions of child executive function (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory), important in the development of self-regulation, as potential mediators of the association between parent RF (18 mo) and reported child FR at 3ys.

Methods. The analysis sample included 217 children (54% female) and their families participating in a birth cohort study in the US Midwest (N = 468). In the analysis sample, 3.2% of the caregivers identified as Black, 5.5% as Asian, 0.9% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.8% as biracial, 86.2% as White, and 1.4% preferred not to answer. RF at 18 mo was measured using the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ; Birch et al., 2001). At 2ys, child inhibitory control and working memory were assessed with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function- Preschool Version (BRIEF-P; Isquith et al., 2005). At 3ys, child FR was assessed using the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ; Wardle et al., 2001). Models were adjusted for child gender and temperament (negative affectivity; Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire; Putnam et al., 2006), parent race, and education level.

Results. Analyses were carried out using PROCESS (version 3.4.1; Hayes, 2020), and indirect effects were derived with 10000 bootstrap samples. Significant associations between RF (18 mo) and child inhibitory control (B = 1.44, SE=0.33, 95% CI [0.78, 2.11]) and working memory (B = 1.46, SE=0.37, 95% CI [0.72, 2.20]) difficulties at 2ys were found (Figures 1 & 2). Accounting for statistical controls, child inhibitory control (2ys) mediated the association between RF (18mo) and child FR at 3 ys (B = 0.065, BootSE = 0.02, 95% CI [0.027, 0.111]; Figure 1).Displayed in Figure 2, child working memory was also shown to mediate the association between caregiver RF and child FR (B = 0.05, BootSE=0.01, 95% CI [0.02, 0.09]. Results suggest that the use of RF practices by caregivers in early childhood may heighten children’s executive function difficulties which, in turn, may lead to higher FR.

Conclusions. Children’s executive function skills are important in the development of self-regulation, and may be one way in which early, non-responsive feeding practices indirectly impact children’s food approach behaviors that have been shown to increase the risk of obesity. Education aimed at increasing parent responsive feeding practices and child self-regulation may help reduce child FR in early childhood.

Authors

• Kelly K. Bost, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Samantha Iwinski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Sehyun Ju, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Madhulika Krishnaswamy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign