Eating behaviour and weight status at 2 years of age: data from the Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 69; no. 12; pp. 1356 - 1359
• Main Authors: McCarthy, E K, Chaoimh, C ní, Murray, D M, Hourihane, J O 'B, Kenny, L C, Kiely, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.12.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699/1702/393; 692/700/478/174; Behavior; Behavioral psychology; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Clinical Nutrition; Cohort analysis; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Developed countries; Eating; Eating behavior; Eating disorders; Epidemiology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Food and nutrition; Food habits; Health aspects; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Infants; Internal Medicine; Ireland; Male; Measurement; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Nutrition surveys; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; original-article; Overweight; Overweight - epidemiology; Physiological aspects; Prevalence; Public Health; Satiation; Satiety; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thinness - epidemiology; Underweight; Weight control; Ireland; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2015.130

Background/Objectives: To conduct an analysis of associations between eating behaviours and weight status in 2-year-old children. Subjects/Methods: Data were collected prospectively in the maternal-infant dyad Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study. The weight status of children aged 2 years ( n =1189) was assigned using the International Obesity Task Force BMI cutoffs using measured heights and weights. Eating behaviours were assessed using the Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). Results: Eighty percent of children were of normal weight, 14% were overweight or obese and 6% were underweight. From the CEBQ, food approach behaviours including Enjoyment of Food (odds ratio (OR)=1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.46–2.48) and Food Responsiveness (OR=1.73, 95% CI=1.47–2.03) were associated with overweight/obesity (all P <0.001). The food avoidant behaviours of Satiety Responsiveness (OR=2.03, 95% CI=1.38–2.98) and Slowness in Eating (OR=1.44, 95% CI=1.01–2.04) were associated with underweight at 2 years (all P <0.05). Conclusions: Eating behaviours are associated with weight status as early as 2 years of age.