Many of us know the frustration: one child wants to eat everything in sight, while another barely touches the food. A new study offers a fascinating explanation for this variation in children’s eating behaviors, and shows that the way children regulate their appetite is much more complex than we thought.
The study, published in the journal “Social Science & Medicine” by a team of researchers from the University of Illinois, sheds light on a question that worries many parents: why do children differ so much in their eating behaviors? The study, led by the researchers Sehyun Joo, Brent McBride and Marin Olschuk offers an innovative model describing how children’s ability to regulate their appetite develops. Contrary to the popular view, which sees obesity as a result of personal choices only, the study highlights the enormous complexity behind the development of eating patterns at an early age.
The study was conducted among infants, toddlers and children from birth to age five. He reveals that the ability to control appetite is the result of a complex system, which includes biological, psychological and social factors. It is especially interesting that the child’s Christmas plays a crucial role in this whole process.
between two worlds
At the moment of birth, nature equips babies with a wonderful system that knows exactly when they need food and when they are full. It is a precise system that responds to internal signals of hunger and satiety. However, as the baby grows, this system begins to undergo interesting changes. The intestinal bacteria, which develop rapidly in the first years, affect the appetite and even the mood. At the same time, the brain undergoes accelerated development, which changes the way the baby reacts to food.
Around the age of two or three, a transformation takes place: toddlers begin to develop a conscious ability to control their eating. But precisely at this stage, the natural ability to listen to the body begins to weaken, and maybe even go wrong. The tempting smell of fresh cookies, the sight of sweets at the supermarket checkout, or even boredom or sadness – all of these begin to influence eating decisions more and more. At preschool age, children already move between two worlds: the inner world of hunger and satiety, and the outer world of temptations and social stimuli.
Innate character and eating habits
The study reveals a fascinating picture of the relationship between the child’s temperament and his eating behavior. Highly sensitive children experience food with particularly strong intensities. They may react extremely to new tastes and textures, and be highly influenced by moods. When stressed or sad, some will turn to food as a source of comfort, while others will completely lose their appetite.
In contrast, the adventurous children, who were born with natural curiosity and a love of new things, often show enthusiasm for food. They are drawn to new tastes, enjoy exploring different textures, and generally respond with excitement to the smells and sights of food. Their ability to self-regulate develops through investigation and experimentation.
The third group is of children born with a natural ability for high self-regulation. These children are better able to balance their wants and needs. They can more easily ignore temptations and listen to their body’s hunger and satiety signals.
How does the family influence?
The way parents treat food has a significant impact on their children’s eating behavior. Using food as a reward or comfort can create emotional eating patterns that will accompany the child for many years. When parents exert excessive pressure to eat, they may impair the child’s natural ability to recognize when he is full. Furthermore, the parents’ emotional reactions to food – whether it is anxiety around healthy eating or whether it is excessive enthusiasm for sweets – shapes the child’s attitude to food.
What can be done?
Know your child’s temperament and adjust your approach to it. A particularly sensitive child will need a quieter and more relaxed eating environment, and perhaps a longer time to get used to new foods. On the other hand, an adventurous child may enjoy participating in food preparation and new culinary experiences. A child with a high regulatory ability can be given more autonomy in choosing the amounts of food.
Encourage them to listen to their feelings of hunger and satiety instead of forcing or restricting. For example, you can ask “Is your stomach still hungry?”, or “How do you feel – full or do you want a little more?”. This is how children learn to recognize and listen to their body signals.
Create a positive and pleasant eating environment. Avoid using food as a reward or punishment, as this can create a complex emotional connection with food. Instead, turn mealtime into an opportunity for pleasant conversation and family bonding. Relaxed family meals help children develop a healthy attitude towards food.
Pay attention to your personal example, as in everything. Children learn from you how to treat food. If you eat a variety of foods, listen to your feelings of hunger and satiety, and talk about food in a positive and balanced way, it is likely that the children will also adopt a similar attitude.
Focus on the long term. Remember that developing healthy eating habits is a process that takes time. Instead of focusing on a specific meal or day, think about habits and attitudes you want to instill in the long term.
Be attentive to emotional states. If you recognize that the child tends to eat in response to situations of stress or boredom, help him find other ways to deal with these feelings – for example through conversation, play or exercise.
Bottom line, understanding that children’s eating behaviors are the result of a complex and personal system, can help us treat them with more patience and understanding. Instead of looking for a one-size-fits-all solution, you should adapt the approach to each child’s unique temperament. And remember that even if two brothers grow up in the same house and under the same conditions, each has its own character, and similar to other areas, even in the matter of food there can be fundamental differences between them. There is no reason and no point (literally) for comparisons.