Determining factors of eating behavior and its impact on intake and obesity in children

Abstract

Eating behaviour is established from the first days of life and can be defined as the way a person feeds themselves. It is influenced by biological, environmental, and social factors. In addition, eating behaviour conditions food intake and can contribute to the development of diseases throughout life, such as obesity. This review aims to identify findings related to the effect of eating behaviour and its influencing factors on food consumption and the occurrence of obesity in children. The different aspects that influence eating behaviour that have been included in this review are: genetics, sex, family socio-economic level, early years (breastfeeding and complementary feeding), parenting styles and environment and access to food. Although most studies carried out on childhood obesity mainly focus on biological and lifestyle factors, it is also important to consider aspects related to eating behaviour in the aetiology and development of this disease. Indeed, studies indicate that special attention needs to be given to parental behaviour and parenting styles, as well as to the family organisation regarding the eating environment, in order to promote a healthy eating behaviour in children. In short, new evidence on eating behaviour, its determinants and its consequences may help clarify its influence on obesity at school age and contribute to the appropriate targeting of recommendations to the population in order to improve their lifestyle habits.