Characterizing Top-down Dimensions of Appetite Self-regulation Among Preschoolers
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- Temple University
- Enrollment
- 125
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Body mass index z-score
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Scientific knowledge of the cognitive-developmental processes that serve to support children's appetite self-regulation are surprisingly limited. This investigation will provide new scientific directions for obesity prevention by elucidating cognitive-developmental influences on young children's ability to make healthy food choices and eat in moderation.
Detailed Description
Appetite self-regulation (ASR) has been described as involving children's use of eating-specific, "top-down" cognitive processes to moderate "bottom-up" biological drives to eat. Much of the research to date on ASR has focused on the role of bottom-up drives in shaping children's behavioral susceptibility to obesity. Alternatively, little is known about the cognitive-developmental processes that shape children's ability to make healthy food choices and eat in moderation during early childhood. The goal of this exploratory investigation is to produce rigorous evidence of cognitive developmental influences on healthy eating behaviors and weight status during preschool through the development of new measures of top-down ASR. Participants will be 125 preschoolers and their primary caregiver. Existing measures of executive functioning in children will be adapted to create new measures of eating-specific, top-down ASR. Associations with children's eating behaviors, body mass index z-scores, food parenting will be assessed.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- None
Masking Description
This is an observational cross-sectional study with interventions ONLY at the measurement level. The research assistant administers the tasks and records the outcomes; therefore, no masking is used.
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 4 Years to 6 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Child ages 4 to 6 years of age
- •Caregiver reporting primary responsibility for child feeding outside of childcare
- •Caregiver legal guardian
Exclusion Criteria
- •Caregiver <18 years of age
- •Child major food allergies
- •Child medication use, developmental disability, or medical conditions known to affect food intake and/or growth; color blindness
- •Child in foster care
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Body mass index z-score
Time Frame: Assessed at 1 of 2 study visits over 2 weeks
Age and sex specific z-score using CDC reference data
Food choice
Time Frame: Assessed at 1 of 2 study visits over 2 weeks
Children's forced-choice selection of fruits, vegetables, and water over alternatives at a meal
Eating in the absence of hunger
Time Frame: Assessed at 1 of 2 study visits over 2 weeks
Children's intake of palatable foods following a standard meal
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported
Investigators
Jennifer Orlet Fisher
Professor
Temple University