The Nutritional Effect of Parental Use of Food as a Reward

Completed

• Conditions: Children's Nutrition Intake

• Registration Number: NCT02354157
• Lead Sponsor: McGill University

Brief Summary

Control rules are common parental practices that use food as reward to encourage children to conduct parents' preferred behaviors. This field observational study aims to examine whether control rules are associated with children's increased fat, carbohydrate and total energy intake in everyday eating, and whether this effect is moderated by individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and by gender differences.

Detailed Description

Control rules are parental practices that use food as an instrumental reinforcer to encourage children to behave in a normative manner in non-food domains. Since food high in fat or sugar is usually chosen as a reinforcer for control rules, these rules may lead to children's increased preference and every day intake of food high in sugar/fat. Research propositions were examined in 207 six to twelve-year-old children (97 boys and 110 girls). Their parents reported the children's everyday dietary intake through a food frequency questionnaire, and provided information regarding the children's sensitivity to rewards as well as an indication of how frequently they enforce family control rules.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2013-03
• Primary Completion: 2013-07
• Study Completion: 2013-07
• Status Verified: 2015-01
• Study First Submitted: 2015-01-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-01-29
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-01-29
• Study First Posted: 2015-02-03
• Last Update Posted: 2015-02-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 207

Inclusion Criteria

• participants have 6-12 years old children

Exclusion Criteria

• N.A.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Food Frequency Questionnaire	last month recall	A web-based Food Frequency Questionnaire was used to aske participants' parents to recall their children's food intake over the last month based on a list of 136 individual food items or food clusters, which covered eight categories of food and beverages. For each individual food item or cluster, participants were asked to indicate how frequently their children consumed that food and the typical portion size.