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 Researchers assessed almost 2,500 girls at multiple points between
ages 10 and 16 to see how their behavior and personality traits
might be linked to their eating habits and weight. Girls whose
parents said they were more impulsive or less adept at planning at
age 10 appeared to gain more weight through age 16.
About 10 percent of the girls reported binge eating at some point
during the study, and doing so at age 12 appeared to account for
some of the excess weight gain the more impulsive girls experienced
by age 16.
“Children are constantly cued to eat by food commercials, vending
machines, etc., so it is easy to imagine how a child who is poorly
inhibited could have difficulty resisting these cues to eat,” said
lead study author Andrea Goldschmidt, an eating disorders researcher
at the University of Chicago.
Even though the study only found a small difference in weight gain
for the more impulsive girls, it was still statistically meaningful
and might mean the teens are more likely to be overweight or obese
as adult women, Goldschmidt said by email.
“For some people gaining only a few pounds could move them from the
non-overweight to overweight range,” Goldschmidt said.
Globally, roughly 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, as are
about 42 million children under the age of 5, according to the World
Health Organization. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease,
diabetes, joint disorders and certain cancers.
While many things – including activity levels and eating habits –
can influence whether people become obese, emotional and behavioral
tendencies can also play a role, making it important that doctors
understand any psychological factors that might contribute to weight
gain.
To explore the potential role of binge eating in the connection
between executive functioning and excess weight, the researchers
assessed girls’ weight relative to their height four times over the
course of the study period.
Based on their weight relative to their height, as many as 35
percent of the study participants were overweight or obese between
the ages of 10 and 16, the study found.
Researchers also evaluated executive functioning and planning skills
using standardized tests and assessed the participants for symptoms
of attention deficits or hyperactivity disorders.
Even though poor impulse control can to some extent be a hallmark of
adolescence, the findings suggest that poorer behavioral regulation
at age 10 may lead to greater weight gain during the teen years, the
authors conclude in the journal Pediatrics.
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One limitation of the study, however, is its reliance on teens to
accurately recall and report their eating habits and note whether
they were prone to binges over the past year, the researchers note.
Similarly, the study relied on parents to accurately note their
daughters’ levels of impulsiveness.
Even so, it’s possible that certain brain regions may orchestrate a
range of self-control behaviors that include impulsivity and
binging, said Myles Faith, a psychology researcher at the University
at Buffalo.
“Psychological interventions have been developed for binge eating
problems, including cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal
psychotherapies,” Faith, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by
email. “These treatments strive to change belief systems, eating
routines, or relationship patterns to combat binge eating.”
Parents and caregivers can help children and teens by avoiding a
focus on reaching specific weight goals, and instead concentrating
on improving the home environment by keeping fruits and vegetables
readily available for snacks and limiting the presence of sugary,
low-nutrient foods.
This can help the whole family make healthier choices without the
child being singled out, Goldschmidt said.
“The focus should be on moderation and overall health rather than
being a certain size or number,” Goldschmidt added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1LscrxF Pediatrics, published online September
21, 2015
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