Daily manifestations of Children's avid eating behaviour and associations with temperament, parental feeding practices and wellbeing

Abstract

Recent evidence has identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-5-year-old children in the UK: avid, happy, typical, and avoidant. Among these profiles, children with avid eating behaviour exhibit high responsiveness to food cues, emotional eating, fast eating speed, and low responsiveness to fullness, posing risks for overeating and higher adiposity. Despite the implications, there is limited research on how avid eating manifests and impacts parents' behaviour and wellbeing. This study aimed to report the frequency of children's avid eating behaviour and explore its associations with child demographics, child temperament, home environment, parental feeding practices, and parental wellbeing. This study collected data via Ecological Momentary Assessment from 109 parents of a 3-5-year-old child identified as having an avid eating profile through a latent profile analysis of parents' reports of their children's eating behaviour. Using baseline and momentary data, the novel findings revealed that children with avid eating frequently requested food, especially snacks, with higher occurrences during weekends. Older children and boys showed higher probabilities of avid eating. High surgency in children correlated with more frequent food requests, while greater effortful control in children related to fewer eating occasions. Parents of children with higher probability of avid eating reported higher stress, depression, and anxiety, as well as frequent food requests from their child. Additionally, food insecurity was linked to increased food requests, suggesting a complex interplay between food availability and eating behaviour. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions to support parents in managing children's avid eating behaviour and improving overall family wellbeing. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.]