Associations between eating behaviors, diet quality and body mass index among adolescents

Abstract Objectives To examine how children's willingness to try new foods (WTNF) is related to diet quality and body mass index. Methods Participants included children (n = 402), ages 3–5 y, recruited from childcare centers participating in baseline assessment of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate strategies to promote the development of healthy eating behaviors. Children's intake of fruit, vegetables, sweets, and salty snacks was measured through a short food frequency questionnaire administered to parents and a diet quality score (DQS) was generated. Children's height and weight were measured, and body mass index z-scores (BMIz) was calculate using CDC criteria. Children's WTNF was assessed by offering 6 novel and 3 familiar foods during a food tasting activity administered in the childcare center. Poisson regressions were used to examine the association between children's WTNF (dichotomized as high: tried ≥ 3 novel foods vs. low: tried < 3 novel foods) and children's weekly intake of each food group. An ordinal regression was used to examine the association between children's WTNF and DQS. Linear regressions were used to examine the association between children's WTNF and BMIz. All analyses were adjusted for child sex, age, race, and household income, parent BMI was also adjusted in models including child BMI. In all models, standard errors were adjusted for clustering within childcare centers, the unit of randomization. Results Children who demonstrated high WTNF consumed 1.24 (95% CI: 1.11–1.38) times more servings of vegetables per week, and had a 1.53 (95% CI: 1.03–2.26) greater odds of having a higher diet quality score compared to children who demonstrated low WTNF. Children's WTNF was not significantly associated with children's intake of fruits, salty snacks, or sweets, or related to their BMIz. Conclusions Diet quality is compromised by children's lower WTNF. Future studies are needed to investigate strategies that promote children's WTNF such as vegetables, and examine whether the relation between low willingness to try new foods and poor diet quality influences child weight outcomes prospectively across childhood. Funding Sources National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

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Subjective Social Status Is Associated with Dysregulated Eating Behaviors and Greater Body Mass Index in an Urban Predominantly Black and Low-Income Sample

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13113893 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 3893

Author(s):

Monika M. Stojek ◽

Paulina Wardawy ◽

Charles F. Gillespie ◽

Jennifer S. Stevens ◽

Abigail Powers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Social Status ◽

Body Mass ◽

Low Income ◽

Emotional Eating ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Food Addiction ◽

Subjective Social Status ◽

Small Sample

Background: Higher subjective social status (SSS) or a person’s perception of their social standing is related to better health outcomes, but few studies examined SSS in relation to obesity. Emotional eating and food addiction have been linked to obesity. Some studies indicated that manipulating SSS may lead to altered food intake, but the relationship between SSS and dysregulated eating, such as emotional eating and food addiction (FA), has not been examined. The goal of this study was to examine the associations between SSS in the community and the larger society, dysregulated eating (emotional eating and FA), and body mass index (BMI) in a majority racial minority sample. Methods: The participants (N = 89; 93% Black, 86% women, and 56% with obesity; 72% income lower than USD 2000), recruited from a publicly funded hospital in Atlanta, GA, completed the MacArthur Scale, Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire, Yale Food Addiction Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, PTSD Symptom Checklist, and demographics questionnaire. Results: Twenty-two percent of the sample met the criteria for FA; those with FA had significantly higher BMI than those without (p = 0.018). In the hierarchical linear regression, the SSS community (but not in society) predicted higher severity of emotional eating (β = 0.26, p = 0.029) and FA (β = 0.30, p = 0.029), and higher BMI (β = 0.28, p = 0.046), independent from depression and PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: The findings indicate that, among Black individuals with predominantly low income in the U.S., perceived role in their community is associated with eating patterns and body mass. Given the small sample size, the results should be interpreted with caution.

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The Association of Having a Late Dinner or Bedtime Snack and Skipping Breakfast with Overweight in Japanese Women

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2019/2439571 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Chika Okada ◽

Hironori Imano ◽

Isao Muraki ◽

Keiko Yamada ◽

Hiroyasu Iso

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Confidence Intervals ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Body Mass ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Japanese Women ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Late Evening ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire ◽

Skipping Breakfast

Background. We aimed to assess the association of habitually eating in the late evening and skipping breakfast with the prevalence of overweight/obesity. Methods. A total of 19,687 Japanese women, aged 40–74 years, were asked about their height, weight, and habitual eating behaviors such as having a late dinner and a bedtime snack and skipping breakfast, using a self-administered questionnaire. We defined overweight/obesity as body mass index greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2. Results. Among the participants, 11% regularly had a late dinner, 22% had bedtime snacks, and 8% skipped breakfast. After adjusting for age, exercise, smoking, sleep duration, and employment, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of skipping breakfast were 2.47 (2.18–2.81) for having a late dinner and 1.71 (1.53–1.91) for having a bedtime snack. These eating behaviors were associated with an increased risk of overweight/obesity: the multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of obesity/overweight were 1.43 (1.27–1.62) for having a late dinner, 1.47 (1.34–1.62) for having a bedtime snack, and 1.23 (1.06–1.42) for skipping breakfast. Conclusions. Japanese women who consumed late dinners or bedtime snacks were more likely to skip breakfast. Having a late dinner or bedtime snack was associated with a higher probability of overweight/obesity.

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