Studying Genetic Risk, Parental Feeding Behaviors, and Childrens Eating Traits to Understand Weight Gain in Preschool Years

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how certain parenting feeding styles, childrens eating behaviors, and genetic risk factors contribute to weight gain in young children aged 2 to 5 years. The focus is on how parental control feeding practices like restricting food or using food to manage emotions might affect childrens tendency to overeat and gain excess body fat, especially in children genetically predisposed to obesity. The study investigates how these factors interact over time to influence obesity risk during the critical preschool years. Children around 2.5 years old will be enrolled and assessed every six months until they turn 5. Researchers will measure childrens genetic risk for obesity using specific gene markers and will objectively evaluate childrens attention to food and overeating behaviors using eye-tracking and an eating in the absence of hunger test. Two study groups involve different measurements of attentional bias to food cues, allowing comparison of these behavioral traits. Participants and their parents will attend regular study visits every six months for about two and a half years. During these visits, parents feeding practices, childrens appetitive traits, eating behaviors, and body fat will be measured. The study uses questionnaires, behavioral tests, and genetic analysis to track changes over time. This detailed monitoring aims to better understand how parenting and genetics affect childrens eating habits and weight gain during early childhood.

Genetic Risk, Parental Feeding Practices, and Appetitive Traits in Early Life