Influences on child obesity and obesity-related health behaviors from infancy through adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Obesity in childhood and adolescence is increasingly prevalent worldwide and has complex origins. This symposium assembles researchers to present research on the development of child obesity and obesity-related health behaviors from infancy through adolescence. The presenters will examine the role of individual differences such as self-regulation and executive function, familial factors such as parental feeding practices, as well as contextual factors such as food insecurity, in the development of obesity and obesity-related health behaviors. The first presentation evaluates self-regulation in infancy as a predictor of body mass index (BMI) trajectories across development, relative to measures of self-regulation in childhood through adolescence. The second presentation examines associations between both general and food-specific parenting behaviors and eating in the absence of hunger in toddlerhood among children living in poverty, as well as potential moderation by family food insecurity. The third presentation assesses associations between emotion regulation and clinical deficits in executive function with obesity-related health behaviors in a sample of high-risk children and adolescents. The fourth presentation utilizes a series of studies to understand children’s differential susceptibility to obesogenic environments through examining the interplay between children’s eating behaviors, parental feeding practices, and behavioral genetics. Taken as a whole, these talks underscore the multifaceted nature of the development of obesity and the importance of accounting for multiple factors simultaneously in prevention and intervention.

Sub Unit

• Health, Growth, Injury

Chair

• LillyBelle Ku'ulei Deer, University of Denver

Individual Presentations

• Infant self-regulation predicts BMI trajectories from infancy to adolescence - Presenting Author: LillyBelle Ku'ulei Deer, University of Denver; Jenalee Doom, University of Denver; Kylie Harrall; Deborah H Glueck; Laura Glynn, Chapman University; Curt Sandman, University of California, Irvine; Elysia Poggi Davis, University of Denver

• Food Insecurity Moderates Associations between Parenting and Eating Behavior in Toddlers - Presenting Author: Hurley O. Riley, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Sara F Stein, University of Michigan; Julie Sturza; Julie Lumeng, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Katherine L Rosenblum, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Alison Leslie Miller, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Self-Regulation and Health Behaviors in a Sample of High-Risk Youth Facing Adversity - Presenting Author: Ana Gutierrez-Colina, Colorado State University; Reagan L. Miller, Colorado State University; Megan Joy Moran; Rachel Lucas-Thompson, Colorado State University; Lauren Shomaker, Colorado State University

• Understanding Differential Susceptibility to Obesogenic Environments: early findings of the APPETItE project - Presenting Author: Jacqueline Blissett, Aston University; Helen Croker, World Cancer Research Fund; Katie Leigh Edwards, Aston University; Emma Haycraft, Loughborough University; Moritz Herle, King's College London; Alice Kininmonth, University College London; Clare Llewellyn, University College London; Abigail Pickard, Aston University; Claire Farrow, Aston University