Date of Award
Spring 6-14-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Degree Name
B.S. in Psychology and Biological Sciences
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Elysia Poggi Davis
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Emotional eating, Feeding practices, Body composition, Body mass index, Emotional regulation
Abstract
Emotional eating – eating in response to negative emotions regardless of hunger – is an obesogenic trait that often develops in childhood and remains a habit through adulthood. Greater emotional eating is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) in 7-12-year-old children (Webber et al., 2009). However, few studies have examined the relations between emotional eating and weight gain in preschool-aged children. Moreover, there is limited research on parental feeding practices and weight gain in preschool-aged children. The current work investigated the association of emotional eating behaviors during an emotional eating task in three-year-old children with change in BMI from three- to four-years-old (N = 57) and body fat percentage at four-years-old (N = 57). I also investigated parents’ use of food as an emotional regulator in three-year-old children with the same outcome variables. I did not find a significant association between emotional eating behaviors and parental feeding practices with change in BMI or body fat percentage. This may be due to the age of the children, as an association between body composition and emotional eating may not show up in children this young. Future work interested in emotional eating should look at different ages and use snacks more familiar to the child.
Copyright Date
6-3-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Keely Wright, Kenia Rivera, and Elysia Poggi Davis
Provenance
Received from Author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
23 pgs
File Size
288 KB
Recommended Citation
Wright, Keely; Rivera, Kenia; and Davis, Elysia Poggi, "Emotional Eating Behaviors and Parental Feeding Practices in Three-Year-Old Children and Their Association with Body Composition One Year Later" (2025). Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals. 60.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/undergraduate_theses/60
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Social Psychology Commons