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Background: Research is needed to identify pathways by which household food insecurity (FI) contributes to parental controlling feeding styles and infant food responsiveness, 2 factors that play a role in shaping obesity risk across infancy and early childhood., Objectives: This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that prenatal FI would be positively associated with higher infant food responsiveness via greater parental mental health symptomatology and controlling feeding styles (pressuring, restrictive)., Methods: Participants included a community sample of 170 birth parents and their infants participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. Parents self-reported household FI and mental health symptoms (depression and anxiety) during pregnancy. Postnatally, parents reported their mental health symptoms, their use of controlling feeding styles, and infant food responsiveness. Path analyses with bias-corrected 95% bootstrapped CIs tested direct and indirect associations between prenatal FI and infant food responsiveness., Results: Prenatal FI was indirectly associated with higher infant food responsiveness via greater parental mental health symptomatology and pressuring to finish (b = 0.01; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.025). Prenatal FI was associated with greater parental mental health symptomatology across the peripartum period (β = 0.54; P < 0.001), which in turn was associated with more pressuring to finish at 2 months pospartum (β = 0.29; P = 0.01) and higher infant food responsiveness at 6 months (β = 0.17; P = 0.04). There were no direct effects of prenatal FI on controlling feedings styles or infant food responsiveness., Conclusions: Our findings point to parental mental health as a potential pathway by which FI may be associated with obesity-promoting parental feeding styles and infant appetitive behaviors. In addition to ensuring reliable access to enough quality food during pregnancy, multipronged assistance that promotes emotional well-being during the peripartum period and clinical guidance on noncontrolling feeding styles could benefit parent and infant health and well-being., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition.)

Background: Consistent findings have reported that FFM is associated with EI. However, conjoint assessments of physiologic (body composition, fasting serum leptin) and behavioral [eating behaviors and physical activity (PA)] correlates of EI during emerging adulthood have not been examined., Objectives: We assessed associations between physiologic and behavioral correlates of EI within the context of one another in emerging adults (18-28 years old). We also assessed these associations in a subsample after the removal of probable EI underreporters., Methods: Cross-sectional data from 244 emerging adults (age = 19.6 ± 1.4 y; BMI = 26.4 ± 6.6 kg/m 2 ; 56.6% female) from the RIGHT Track Health study were used. Measures included body composition (BOD POD), eating behaviors (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire), objective and subjective PA (accelerometer-derived total activity counts and Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire), fasting serum leptin, and EI (three 24-hour dietary recalls). Correlates independently associated with EI were entered into a backward stepwise linear regression model. Correlates that met the criteria of P < 0.05 were retained. Analyses were repeated in a subsample after removing probable EI underreporters (n = 48). Effect modification by sex (male and female) and BMI (BMI < 25 kg/m 2 , BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 ) categories was also assessed., Results: In the full sample, FFM (β: 18.4; 95% CI: 9.9, 26.8), leptin (β: -84.8; 95% CI: -154.3, -15.4), dietary restraint (β: -35.2; 95% CI: -59.1, -11.3), and subjective PA (β: 2.5; 95% CI: 0.04, 4.9) were significantly associated with EI. After the removal of probable underreporters, only FFM remained significantly associated with EI (β: 43.9; 95% CI: 27.2, 60.6). No evidence of effect modification by sex or BMI categories was noted., Conclusions: Although physiologic and behavioral correlates were associated with EI in the full sample, only FFM remained a robust correlate of EI in a subsample of emerging adults after removing probable EI underreporters., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Parental controlling feeding styles and practices have been associated with greater food-approaching appetitive behaviors (i.e., food responsiveness) linked to childhood obesity. Recent longitudinal research suggests that this relationship may be reciprocal such that controlling feeding predicts child appetite and vice versa. However, to date no studies have considered these associations during infancy. The current study investigates prospective bidirectional associations between controlling feeding (restriction, pressure, and food to soothe) and infant food responsiveness. Mothers ( N = 176) reported their controlling feeding and their infant's food responsiveness at infant age 2, 6, and 14 months. A 3-wave cross-lagged panel model was used to test the effect of controlling feeding at an earlier time point on infant food responsiveness at a later time point, and vice versa. Maternal controlling feeding and infant food responsiveness showed moderate stability across infancy. Net of covariates, we observed parent-driven prospective relations between pressuring feeding styles and food to soothe with infant food responsiveness. Pressuring to finish was a significant predictor of increases in food responsiveness from 2 to 6 months ( p = 0.004) and pressuring with cereal was a significant predictor of increases in food responsiveness from 6 to 14 months ( p = 0.02). Greater use of situational food to soothe was marginally associated with higher food responsiveness from 2 to 6 months ( p = 0.07) and 6 to 14 months ( p = 0.06). Prospective associations between restrictive feeding styles and infant food responsiveness were not observed. Findings point to pressuring feeding styles and food to soothe as potential early life intervention targets to prevent increases in food responsiveness in infancy. Longitudinal research with follow-up in the toddler and preschool years are needed to understand how these associations unfold over time and whether child-driven effects of food responsiveness become apparent as children get older., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Eagleton, Shriver, Buehler, Wideman and Leerkes.)

Introduction: Structural racism leads to neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage, which determines adverse birth outcomes. Individual socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with compromised healthy pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the pathways by which race, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and household socioeconomic disadvantage predict subsequent maternal postpartum weight retention., Method: A total of 176 (N=176) racially diverse women were studied from the third trimester to 6 months after delivery. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was defined by information from the American Community Survey based on women's census tract and self-reports of neighborhood healthy food availability, safety, violence, and walking environment. Household socioeconomic disadvantage included food insecurity, income-to-needs ratio, and maternal education. Pregnancy health risk was operationalized using a summative index that included prepregnancy overweight/obesity, excessive gestational weight gain, and diagnosed hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Postpartum weight retention was operationalized as a 6-month postpartum weight minus prepregnancy weight. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with bootstrapped CIs to estimate indirect effects., Results: One third of participants retained more than 22 lbs. of pregnancy weight gain 6 months after delivery. Increased household socioeconomic disadvantage (β=0.64, p =0.039) and pregnancy health risk (β=0.34, p =0.002) were directly associated with higher postpartum weight retention. Maternal race/ethnicity had an indirect impact on postpartum weight retention through neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and household socioeconomic disadvantage. Non-Hispanic Black women had greater neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage than non-Hispanic White women (White vs Black β= -0.62; p <0.001) and all other women (other vs Black β= -0.22; p =0.013). In addition, Black women had greater household socioeconomic disadvantage than White women (White vs Black β= -0.35; p =0.004), both of which in turn predicted higher postpartum weight retention., Conclusions: To prevent postpartum weight retention, education on behavior change to lose weight is essential, but it must be offered in the context of basic resources, at both the neighborhood and household levels., Competing Interests: none., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Background: Adverse experiences during childhood and recent stressful life events are each associated with women's reduced well-being and poorer health during pregnancy. Few studies, however, have focused upon pregnant women's social well-being, and inclusion of both independent variables in the same analysis is rare. This study focuses upon adverse experiences during childhood as well as recent life events in relationship to four aspects of social well-being: social support, couple aggression for partnered women, neighborhood safety, and food insecurity., Materials and Methods: A diverse community sample of 176 pregnant women completed questionnaires during their third trimester. A cross-sectional design was used that included retrospective reports of childhood experiences, as well as reports of recent life events and current well-being., Results: Adverse experiences during childhood were uniquely associated with couple aggression (β = 0.206, p  = 0.026) and lower neighborhood safety (β = -0.185, p  = 0.021). Recent stressful life events were uniquely associated with lower social support (β = -0.247, p  = 0.001) and greater food insecurity (β = 0.494, p  = 0.000). For social support and food insecurity, there was a significant indirect pathway from adverse childhood experiences through recent stressful life events. Adverse child experiences and recent stressful life events did not interact., Conclusions: A life-course perspective that considers women's experiences across their life span is critical for use by both researchers and health practitioners. Adverse childhood experiences and recent stressful life events are important for understanding social features of pregnant women's daily lives., (© Cheryl Buehler et al., 2022; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.)

This cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at overweight and obese children compared three treatments. Two psychoeducation interventions for parents and children were conducted: Family Lifestyle (FL) focused on food and physical activity; Family Dynamics (FD) added parenting and healthy emotion management. A third Peer Group (PG) intervention taught social acceptance to children. Crossing interventions yielded four conditions: FL, FL + PG, FL + FD, and FL + FD + PG-compared with the control. Longitudinal BMI data were collected to determine if family- and peer-based psychosocial components enhanced the Family Lifestyle approach. Participants were 1st graders with BMI%ile >75 ( n = 538: 278 boys, 260 girls). Schools were randomly assigned to condition after stratifying for community size and percent American Indian. Anthropometric data were collected pre- and post-intervention in 1st grade and annually through 4th grade. Using a two-level random intercept growth model, intervention status predicted differences in growth in BMI or BMI-M% over three years. Children with obesity who received the FL + FD + PG intervention had lower BMI gains compared to controls for both raw BMI (B = -0.05) and BMI-M% (B = -2.36). Interventions to simultaneously improve parent, child, and peer-group behaviors related to physical and socioemotional health offer promise for long-term positive impact on child obesity.

The nature of the association between dietary restraint and weight has been examined in adult samples, but much less is known about this relationship among children. The current study examined the transactional associations among restrained eating behavior and weight among boys and girls during middle childhood. Data for this study came from 263 children participating in the Families and Schools for Health Project (FiSH), a longitudinal study of the psychosocial correlates of childhood obesity. Participants were interviewed by trained researchers in their third- and fourth-grade year when they completed questionnaires and anthropometric assessments. Dietary restraint was assessed using the restrained eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and weight was assessed using Body Mass Index z-scores (BMIz). Bidirectional associations between variables were examined using cross-lagged models controlling for children's sex, ethnicity, and weight in first grade. Results indicated that weight in grade 3 was related to greater dietary restraint in grade 4 (B = 0.20, p = 0.001), but dietary restraint in grade 3 was not associated with weight in grade 4 (B = 0.01, p = 0.64). Neither child sex nor race/ethnicity were associated with BMIz or dietary restraint at either time point. Findings from this study advance the existing limited understanding of eating behavior development among children and show that weight predicts increases in children's dietary restraint in middle childhood.

Introduction: Resting heart rate (HR rest ), heart rate variability (HRV), and HR recovery (HRR) from exercise provide valuable information about cardiac autonomic control. RR-intervals during acute recovery from exercise (RR rec ) are commonly excluded from HRV analyses due to issues of non-stationarity. However, the variability and complexity within these trends may provide valuable information about changes in HR dynamics., Purpose: Assess the complexity of RR rec and determine what physiologic and demographic information are associated with differences in these indices in young adults., Methods: RR-intervals were collected throughout maximal treadmill exercise and recovery in young adults ( n = 92). The first 5 min of RR rec were (1) analyzed with previously reported methods that use 3-interval lengths for comparison and (2) detrended using both differencing (diff) and polynomial regression (res) . The standard deviation of the normal interval (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (rMSSD), root mean square (RMS) of the residual of regression, and sample entropy (SampEn) were calculated. Repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tested for differences in these indices for each of the methodological approaches, controlling for race, body fat, peak oxygen uptake (VO 2p eak ), and resting HR (HR rest ). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05., Results: VO 2p eak and HR rest were significantly correlated with traditional measures of HRR and the variability surrounding RR rec . SampEn diff and SampEn res were correlated with VO 2p eak but not HR rest or HRR. The residual- method provided a significantly ( p = 0.04) lower mean standard error (MSE) (0.064 ± 0.042) compared to the differencing- method (0.100 ± 0.033)., Conclusions: Complexity analysis of RR rec provides unique information about cardiac autonomic regulation immediately following the cessation of exercise when compared to traditional measures of HRR and both HRrest and VO2peak influence these results., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Berry, Bechke, Shriver, Calkins, Keane, Shanahan and Wideman.)

Emotional eating is associated with an increased risk of binge eating, eating in the absence of hunger and obesity risk. While previous studies with children and adolescents suggest that emotion regulation may be a key predictor of this dysregulated eating behavior, little is known about what other factors may be influencing the link between emotional regulation and emotional eating in adolescence. This multi-method longitudinal study ( n = 138) utilized linear regression models to examine associations between childhood emotion regulation, adolescent weight status and negative body image, and emotional eating at age 17. Emotion regulation predicted adolescent emotional eating and this link was moderated by weight status ( β = 1.19, p < 0.01) and negative body image ( β = -0.34, p < 0.01). Higher engagement in emotional eating was predicted by lower emotional regulation scores among normal-weight teens ( β = -0.46, p < 0.001) but not among overweight/obese teens ( β = 0.32, p > 0.10). Higher scores on emotion regulation were significantly associated with lower emotional eating at high ( β = -1.59, p < 0.001) and low ( β = -1.00, p < 0.01) levels of negative body image. Engagement in emotional eating was predicted by higher negative body image among overweight/obese teens only ( β = 0.70, p < 0.001). Our findings show that while better childhood emotion regulation skills are associated with lower emotional eating, weight status and negative body image influence this link and should be considered as important foci in future interventions that aim to reduce emotional eating in adolescence.

Background: Childhood obesity remains a significant public health problem. To date, most research on the causes and correlates of obesity has focused on a small number of direct predictors of obesity rather than testing complex models that address the multifactorial nature of the origins of obesity in early development. We describe the rationale and methods of iGrow (Infant Growth and Development Study) which will test multiple pathways by which (a) prenatal maternal psychobiological risk predicts infant weight gain over the first 6 months of life, and (b) this early weight gain confers risk for obesity at age 2. Infant hormonal and psychobiological risk are proposed mediators from prenatal risk to early weight gain, though these are moderated by early maternal sensitivity and obesogenic feeding practices. In addition, higher maternal sensitivity and lower obesogenic feeding practices are proposed predictors of adaptive child self-regulation in the second year of life, and all three are proposed to buffer/reduce the association between high early infant weight gain and obesity risk at age 2., Methods: iGrow is a prospective, longitudinal community-based study of 300 diverse mothers and infants to be followed across 5 data waves from pregnancy until children are age 2. Key measures include (a) maternal reports of demographics, stress, well-being, feeding practices and child characteristics and health; (b) direct observation of maternal and infant behavior during feeding, play, and distress-eliciting tasks during which infant heart rate is recorded to derive measures of vagal withdrawal; (c) anthropometric measures of mothers and infants; and (d) assays of maternal prenatal blood and infant saliva and urine. A host of demographic and other potential confounds will be considered as potential covariates in structural equation models that include tests of mediation and moderation. Efforts to mitigate the deleterious effects of COVID-19 on study success are detailed., Discussion: This study has the potential to inform (1) basic science about early life processes casually related to childhood obesity and (2) development of targeted intervention and prevention approaches that consider mother, infant, and family risks and resources.

The prevalence of obesity among U.S. youth continues to increase, with many adolescents engaging in unhealthy eating behaviors. Increasingly, research points to the role of self-regulation in obesity development, yet existing work has largely focused on young children and/or clinical adult populations. This multi-method longitudinal study ( N = 153) utilized a path analysis to delineate links between emotion regulation (age 15), emotional eating and dietary restraint (age 16), and adiposity (% body fat) using a BodPod for body composition assessment (age 19). Emotion regulation was negatively associated with emotional eating ( β = -0.30, p < 0.001) and positively associated with dietary restraint ( β = 0.15, p < 0.05) at age 16, but was not associated with age 19 adiposity ( β = -0.01, p = ns). Emotional eating was positively associated with adiposity ( β = 0.24, p < 0.01). Indirect effects suggested that emotional eating, but not dietary restraint, at age 16 serves as a mechanism that helps explain the associations between emotion regulation and adiposity four years later. Results from this study suggest that both emotion regulation and emotional eating represent promising targets for that should be included in future interventions aimed at preventing adolescent obesity.

Background/objectives: Breakfast consumption has been shown to impact children's growth and development, but the influence of breakfast skipping on total daily intakes is not known. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in nutritional intakes and food consumption between children who consume breakfast versus those who do not., Subjects/methods: Dietary recall data were assessed for 2-year-old to 5-year-old children (n = 3443) and 6-year-old to 12-year-old children (n = 5147) from NHANES 2005-2012. Dietary intakes and diet quality scores were compared across breakfast consumption and skipping with means and 95% confidence interval., Results: Children who skipped breakfast on the day of intake had significantly lower energy intakes for the total day (5911 vs 6723 kJ) but had greater energy intakes from non-breakfast meals and snacks. Children who skipped breakfast consumed nearly 40% of the day's intake (2332 kJ of 5911 kJ) from snacks, with 586 kJ from snacks as added sugars. Breakfast skipping was also related to significantly lower intakes of fiber, folate, iron, and calcium intakes. Overall diet quality scores, as well as fruit, whole fruit, whole grains, dairy and empty calorie subscale scores were significantly better in children who ate breakfast., Conclusions: Children who skipped breakfast presented poorer overall diet quality and lower total intakes commonly obtained at breakfast. To address missed opportunities, nutrition professionals should encourage children's consumption of a nutritious breakfast to support overall diet quality.

Nutritional quality of children's diets is a public health priority in the fight against childhood obesity and chronic diseases. The main purpose of this study was to determine contribution of snacks to energy and nutrient intakes and to identify leading snack food sources of energy, total fat, and added sugars amongst young children in the United States. Using the 2005-2012 NHANES data, dietary intakes of 2- to 5-year-old children were analysed from a parent-reported 24-hour dietary recall (n = 3,429). Snacking occasions were aggregated to determine the proportion of total food/beverage intake obtained from snacks, estimate energy, and nutrient intakes, and identify the leading snack food sources of energy, added sugars, and total fat. Nearly all children consumed a snack on the reported day (62% morning, 84% afternoon, and 72% evening). Snacks accounted for 28% of total energy intake, 32% of carbohydrates, 39% of added sugars, and 26% of total fat and dietary fiber intakes for the day. Snacking occasions accounted for 46.6% of all beverages consumed on the reported day. Snacks and sweets food category (i.e., cookies and pastries) were the leading sources of energy (44%), total fat (52%), and added sugars (53%) consumed during snacking occasions. Sweetened beverages (e.g., fruit and sport drinks) contributed 1-quarter of all added sugars obtained from snacks. Snacks contribute considerable amount of energy and nutrients to young children's diets, with a heavy reliance on energy-dense foods and beverages. Targeted interventions are needed to improve the nutritional quality of snacks consumed by young children., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Children are encouraged to eat a specific amount of fruits and vegetables to optimize health. The purpose of this study was to assess whether consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables, respectively, was associated with a greater diet quality among preschool-aged children. Analyses were performed using a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of US children. Dietary intakes from 24-h dietary recalls of two-five year old children ( n  = 2595) in 2005-2010 NHANES were examined. Diet quality was evaluated using MyPlate equivalents and the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010). Variety categories were determined based on children's fruit, fruit juice, and vegetable consumption on the recalled day. Differences in diet quality were examined using t -tests. Variety of fruits and vegetables was linked to higher overall diet quality. Children who consumed whole fruit had better diet quality scores for total fruit, whole fruit, whole grains, dairy, seafood, refined grains, sodium, and empty calories ( P  ≤ 0.018). Significantly higher HEI-2010 scores for total fruit, whole fruit, fatty acids, sodium, and empty calories, but a lower dairy HEI-2010 score, were identified in children who drank fruit juice ( P  ≤ 0.038). Vegetable consumption was significantly associated with higher total vegetables, greens/beans, and empty calories, but a lower sodium score ( P  ≤ 0.027). Children who consumed whole fruit, fruit juice and non-starchy vegetables ( P  ≤ 0.017), but not white potatoes, had significantly higher total HEI-2010 scores. Reinforcing fruit and 100% fruit juice consumption may indirectly support healthier diets among children. However, underlying associations between fruit and vegetable intakes and overall diet quality should be examined further.

The objective of this descriptive study was to evaluate the performance of the international World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards in the Czech Republic and determine the prevalence of wasting among children using the 1991 Czech growth reference and the WHO growth standards. The study utilized the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards and the 1991 Czech growth references. The WHO standards were based on a longitudinal study of 882 children aged 0-24 months and on cross-sectional studies of 6669 children aged 18-71 months. The 1991 Czech growth references were based on a cross-sectional survey including 90 910 children aged 0-18 years (34 164 were children aged < 5 years). The prevalence of wasting was significantly higher among Czech children when using the WHO growth standards compared with the Czech references. The prevalence of wasting among 0-5-month-old children was 15.5% among boys and 12.9% among girls compared with the expected 2.3% of the WHO standards. In the length category of 50 cm, 9.0% of boys and 9.9% of girls fell under the WHO wasting cut-off compared with the 3% from the Czech growth reference. The application of the WHO growth standards may results in a significant increase of Czech children classified in the category of wasting, especially among infants aged 0-5 months. The performance and potential impacts of the WHO growth standards should be evaluated further before their adoption in the Czech Republic and other countries with local growth references., (© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)