Temperament and eating self-regulation in young children with or at risk for obesity: An exploratory report

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between temperament and eating self-regulation in early childhood, despite emerging evidence for associations with pediatric obesity. Method: The aim of this exploratory report was to examine the associations between three eating behaviors and three facets of temperament among 4- to 8-year-olds with or at risk for obesity. Results: Among 28 participants in a family intervention to reduce eating speed, we found at baseline that slower child eating speed was associated with less surgency (r = −.39, p =.04) and higher food responsiveness was associated with higher negative affect (r =.40, p =.03). Conclusions: These findings support the potential yield of integrating temperament with eating self-regulation assessments in studies of early obesity risk. A better understanding is needed regarding ways in which parents differentially feed in response to child temperament.