Delay of Gratification Predicts Eating in the Absence of Hunger in Preschool-Aged Children
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Date
2021-03-19
Authors
Giuliani, Nicole R.
Kelly, Nichole R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Abstract
Poor ability to regulate one's own food intake based on hunger cues may encourage children to eat beyond satiety, leading to increased risk of diet-related diseases. Self-regulation has multiple forms, yet no one has directly measured the degree to which different domains of self-regulation predict overeating in young children. The present study investigated how three domains of self-regulation (i.e., appetitive self-regulation, inhibitory control, and attentional control) predicted eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) in a community sample of 47 preschool-aged children (M age = 4.93, SD = 0.86). Appetitive self-regulation, as measured using a delay of gratification task, was significantly and negatively associated with EAH 1 year later (p < 0.5). Measures of inhibitory and attentional control did not significantly predict EAH. These results suggest that food-related self-regulation may be a better predictor of overeating behaviors than general measures of self-regulation.
Description
11 pages
Keywords
self-regulation, eating in the absence of hunger, preschool, taste test, inhibitory control, delay of gratification
Citation
Giuliani NR and Kelly NR (2021) Delay of Gratification Predicts Eating in the Absence of Hunger in Preschool-Aged Children. Front. Psychol. 12:650046. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.650046