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Abstract
Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) represents a food approach behavior linked to obesity risk among youth. However, it is not clear when EAH begins to influence weight since most research comes from older children. This study examined the associations between EAH and weight/adiposity outcomes, anthropometrics, feeding styles, and socio-demographics in toddlers. Data came from a longitudinal study of mothers-child dyads. Socio-demographics came from questionnaires, child anthropometrics (weight, height, % body fat), feeding styles were measured using the Infant Feeding Practices Questionnaire II, and the Feeding Style Questionnaire (IFSQ), additionally, EAH was measured at 2y using an EAH task form. The EAH task assessed children’s energy (E) intake from 6 highly palatable foods after eating a meal. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and ANOVA tests were used to examine correlates of E intake using SPSS. Children (n=162) consumed 64.2 ± 39.8 kcal (m ± SD), with boys consuming more E than girls (p=.01). E intake was lower among children living in poverty and enrolled in a federal nutrition assistance program than others (47.1 vs. 67.9 kcal; p=.01). None of the weight-related measures 2y (i.e., weight-for-length percentile) were associated with E intake. Higher % body fat was associated with a greater E intake from sweet foods (r=.22; p<.05), but not total E intake (p=.059). Formula-fed infants consumed less energy during the EAH task than infants who were breastfed as infants (r=-.166; p=0.036), and infants with mothers with more indulgent feeding practices showed a negative association (r=-.171; p=0.031) between E consumption during EAH and indulgent feeding styles. Although most feeding styles from the IFSQ scores and bottle-feeding intensity were not associated with total energy consumption during EAH. In contrast to previous findings with older children, EAH is not associated with weight outcomes among toddlers.