Psychosocial influences on appetite and eating behavior

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The research activities of our team during the past year have focused on the following studies. 1) Investigating how food insecurity promotes opportunistic eating and obesity Food insecurity is linked to higher obesity risk, potentially because it fosters opportunistic eating, which is the tendency to overeat whenever food is available. Our research has identified a key psychological mechanism for opportunistic eating: persistent worries about maintaining fullness (and avoiding hunger). In a mega-analysis of six of our studies, we found that food insecurity predicts greater concerns about staying full, which in turn predicts larger meal portion sizes and higher BMI. Importantly, prior research shows that opportunistic eating often persists even after food insecurity is alleviated. Our findings suggest that addressing lasting anxieties about hunger and fullness may be critical for reducing the long-term obesity risk associated with food insecurity. 2) Subjective socioeconomic status and eating behaviors of pregnant women In the United States, people with higher socioeconomic status (SES) typically eat healthier diets than those with lower SES, contributing to disparities in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Beyond material resources, perceptions of one’s social standing (subjective SES) also matter, such that young adults with lower subjective SES tend to prefer high-calorie foods and consume larger portions. However, it is unknown whether similar effects occur during pregnancy - a time of major financial, social, and physiological change. Using data from the Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO), we tested whether women’s preconception subjective SES predicted eating behaviors (food cravings, cognitive restraint, emotional eating, uncontrolled eating) or diet (adherence to healthy/unhealthy patterns, energy intake) during pregnancy. We found no associations, and results did not differ by women’s income or education. These findings suggest that during pregnancy, deliberative factors, such as intentional diet goals, may override habitual influences of subjective SES. Building on this, we are conducting online experiments (data collection in progress) to test whether acute experiences of low subjective SES influence subsequent food preferences among pregnant women. Together, these studies will clarify how subjective SES shapes perinatal eating behaviors and may inform strategies to reduce socioeconomic disparities in maternal and child health. 3) Subjective social status and eating behaviors of youths Our team has shown that youths who perceive themselves as lower in social standing compared to peers are more preoccupied with food (hyperphagia) and tend to eat in the absence of hunger. Building on this work, we have explored mechanisms underlying these behaviors. Using data from NICHD’s Children’s Growth and Behavior Study (NCT0290765), we examined whether lower subjective social status (SSS; feelings of having lower social standing compared to others) reduces feelings of fullness after eating, potentially explaining greater desire to eat. In a laboratory study, youths reporting lower SSS felt less full after consuming a shake standardized to their daily energy needs and reported higher hunger over the following 90 minutes. These findings have been published in Pediatric Psychology. In another analysis of the Children’s Growth and Behavior Study, we found that youths with lower SSS consumed more calories from a buffet of many foods. This effect was explained by faster eating rates, a known behavioral contributor to childhood obesity. Together, these studies highlight modifiable experiences (e.g., dampened feelings of fullness) and behaviors (e.g., faster eating rate) that may serve as targets for interventions aimed at reducing excess energy intake and obesity risk in youths reporting psychosocial stressors like low status. 4) Characterizing food-related implicit biases and their relationship with eating behaviors Attitudes toward foods influence diet quality, a key predictor of obesity and other chronic diseases. Most prior research has focused on explicit, self-reported attitudes. However, it is unclear how implicit associations, or automatically activated cognitions and impulses toward food, affect eating behaviors. Using data from Project Implicit Health, a large online database of health-relevant implicit association measures, we examined whether Americans hold health-favoring or disfavoring implicit associations toward foods and whether these associations predict dietary patterns. Across two large U.S. adult samples (n = 11,504 and 12,128), participants implicitly associated healthy foods with palatability (good taste) and acceptability. Stronger implicit palatability associations predicted healthier self-reported eating behaviors (e.g., less eating in the absence of hunger) and better dietary habits, independent of explicit attitudes toward healthy eating. These findings, published in Obesity, suggest that implicit food-related associations may uniquely support healthier eating and represent promising intervention targets. Our current analyses are focused on how county-level environmental factors (e.g., density of fast-food restaurants and socioeconomic conditions) influence these food-related implicit associations, and how these implicit associations contribute to local obesity and diabetes rates (across approximately 1,300 counties). With these analyses, we are testing whether obesogenic features of local environments may increase risk for chronic diseases by shaping residents’ food-related impulses and attitudes.