Exploring the complexity of appetite self-regulation in childhood

The basics of hearty eating begin in childhood. Teenage children learn to regulate their appetite through a combination of biological, psychological and sociological factors. In a modern paper, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign propose a model that examines these factors and their interactions, providing clues to better understand appetite self-regulation in children.

“When we talk about obesity, often common advice is to simply eat less and exercise more. “This is a simplistic recommendation that almost gives the impression that an individual’s willpower solely determines their approach to food,” said lead author Sehyun Ju, a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

Appetite self-regulation is related to general self-regulation, but specifically concerns an individual’s ability to regulate food intake, which influences hearty development and the risk of obesity. Children are born with the ability to regulate their appetite based on hunger and satiety signals, but with increased exposure to environmental factors, their eating becomes increasingly driven by reasoning and psychological motivations. That’s why it’s critical to take a developmental perspective and track changes in eating behaviors over time, Ju said.

Ju and her colleagues are developing a comprehensive framework based on the biopsychosocial pathways model, which identifies three interacting categories: biological factors, including sensory experiences, physiological signals of hunger and satiety, brain-gut interaction, and the influence of the gut microbiome; psychological factors including emotional self-regulation, cognitive control, stress regulation, and reward processing; and social factors such as parental behaviors and feeding practices, culture, geography, and food insecurity.

Researchers combine this framework with temperament theory to examine how pathways are modified by individual temperament.

Children respond to stimuli differently depending on their psychological and emotional structure, Ju explained. For example, openness to modern things and positive anticipation may influence whether a child is willing to try modern foods. If a parent pressures a child to eat, this may be counterproductive for a child with increased sensitivity to negative affect, causing the child to eat less.

The model also takes into account children’s development stages. Infants have basic regulation of appetite based on physiological signals. They gradually become more susceptible to external influences, and by the age of 3-5, children begin to demonstrate greater self-control and emotional regulation.

“By analyzing the pathways outlined in our model, we can better understand the cumulative impact of multiple factors on children’s self-regulation of appetite and their motivation to eat,” Ju said.

For example, the presence of palatable food may not trigger similar reactions in everyone. Children may view food as a reward, pleasure seeking, or emotion regulation. The underlying motivations can be diverse and are influenced by external factors as well as temperamental characteristics.

Sehyun Ju, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

Socioenvironmental influences include parent-child interactions around eating, as well as non-eating caregiver practices that may influence a child’s emotional regulation. The researchers found that the household food environment, the cultural value of food consumption and its availability are also critical factors.

Scientists can apply this model to guide their research, focusing on specific paths depending on the topic of interest.

For example, Ju and co-author Kelly Bost, a professor of child development at HDFS, are conducting an empirical study examining parent-child interactions during meals. Parents completed questionnaires, and family meals were videotaped so that researchers could assess dyadic interaction between child and caregiver. The research team then looked at the children’s approach to or withdrawal from food and assessed how temperament influenced these associations.

“If we understand differential susceptibility to various factors, we can identify and modify environmental influences that are particularly conducive to obesity, based on children’s temperamental characteristics. Then we will be able to provide a more sophisticated approach to supporting children’s hearty eating behaviors,” Ju explained.

“Or, if children experience food insecurity, they may exhibit certain rewarding responses in response to food stimuli. Even if food insecurity is alleviated, we may still need to lend a hand children build a sheltered, positive relationship with food that is not stress-induced or that does not apply food as a primary means of meeting their emotional needs. If we understand the pathways, we can adapt our approach to supporting children to take all of these factors into account,” she concluded.

The study was part of the STRONG Kids 2 project, which examines how an individual’s biology interacts with the family environment to promote hearty eating habits in teenage children.