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Forbidding foods creates cravings; Study examines weight, self-control in children
Montreal Gazette
August 28, 2009
Teaching children to regulate how much they eat, rather than forbidding certain foods, is more effective for maintaining a healthy weight, new research says.
Stephanie L. Anzman and Leann L. Birch, of the Centre for Childhood Obesity Research of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, said offering children healthy choices and keeping junk food out of the house also helps.
"Parental attempts to help children with lower self-control by restricting their access to favourite snack foods can make the forbidden foods even more attractive, thereby exacerbating the problem," Anzman said.
The researchers, who reported their findings in the Journal of Pediatrics, studied 197 girls age 5 to 15. They interviewed the girls and their families periodically.
When the girls were 7, they interviewed mothers about their child's ability to control themselves, such as asking whether a girl was able to stop doing something when asked. None of the questions was about eating.
The girls also filled out a questionnaire about parental feeding attitudes, with questions like, "If you ask for a snack, does mommy let you have it?"
About one in five of the girls was overweight by age 15.
Researchers found that the lower a girl's self-control at 7, the higher her body mass index was then and at all other time points in the study. Girls with less self-control at 7 had also gained more weight by age 15.
High BMI, a measure for determining overweight and obesity, was strongest among the girls who reported that their parents were more restrictive about their eating.