Impact of mothers' distress and emotional eating on calories served to themselves and their young children: An experimental study

• Published in: Pediatric obesity 2022-06, Vol.17 (6), p.e12886-n/a
• Main Authors: Warnick, Jennifer, Cardel, Michelle, Jones, Laura, Gonzalez‐Louis, Rachel, Janicke, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body Mass Index; Calories; Child; Child Behavior - psychology; Child, Preschool; Childrens health; Eating - psychology; Eating behavior; emotional eating; Emotions; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Food; Humans; Mothers - psychology; Obesity; Obesity - psychology; Overweight; parental distress; parental‐feeding behaviours; Pediatrics; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 2047-6302; 2047-6310
• DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12886

Summary Background Parents play a significant role in children's eating behaviours and food environment. Emotional eating (i.e., eating due to/to cope with emotions regardless of hunger) can contribute to excess energy consumption and subsequent weight gain. Yet, there is a paucity of research examining mothers' feeding and eating behaviours in the presence of their young children during times of acute distress. Objective The current study examined whether manipulated maternal mood impacted subsequent eating and parental‐feeding in mothers with overweight or obesity with their preschool aged children in a laboratory‐based experiment. Methods Mothers (n = 47) with overweight or obesity and their preschool aged children were randomized to either an acute distress or control group. After completing a task which manipulated mothers' moods, respectively, dyads were offered a buffet of snack foods. Measures of mothers' reported emotional eating and distress were collected, and calories served and consumed were objectively measured. Results There were no between‐group differences regarding calories served or consumed. Mothers across both groups who reported higher emotional eating served themselves (p = 0.014) and their children (p = 0.007) less food, and mothers consumed less food (p = 0.045). Mothers who reported higher emotional eating and increased acute distress fed their children less food (p = 0.02) and both children and mothers ate less food (p