Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite
Candy provides little nutritional value and contributes to children’s energy intake from added sugars. Factors influencing children’s candy intake remain largely unknown. This study describes children’s total candy intake (kcal) before and after a meal and examines associations of candy intake in bo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Children |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/1/52 |
| _version_ | 1797444314749468672 |
|---|---|
| author | Erika Hernandez Amy M. Moore Brandi Y. Rollins Alison Tovar Jennifer S. Savage |
| author_facet | Erika Hernandez Amy M. Moore Brandi Y. Rollins Alison Tovar Jennifer S. Savage |
| author_sort | Erika Hernandez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Candy provides little nutritional value and contributes to children’s energy intake from added sugars. Factors influencing children’s candy intake remain largely unknown. This study describes children’s total candy intake (kcal) before and after a meal and examines associations of candy intake in both conditions with children’s temperament and appetite among a predominantly White, highly educated sample. Children (<i>n</i> = 38, age 5–8 years) were given free access to 11 candies (5 chocolate, 6 non-chocolate) and non-food alternatives during a pre-meal and a post-meal condition. Parents completed the Child Behavior Questionnaire and the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Total candy intake was less when offered after a meal (209.3 kcal; SD = 111.25) than before a meal when still hungry (283.6 kcal; SD = 167.3), but not statistically different. Individual differences in candy intake between conditions was calculated to categorize children into three groups: “Better Regulators” consumed more candy before a meal (39%), “Consistent/Poorer Regulators” consumed similar amounts before and after a meal regardless of hunger (32%), and “Most Disinhibited” children consumed more candy after a meal when not hungry (29%). The “Better Regulators” group was lowest in negative affect and the “Consistent/Poorer Regulators” group was highest in food responsiveness. Children’s candy intake was high relative to daily energy needs both before and after a meal. Child negative affect and food responsiveness appear to be child characteristics that predispose children to poor self-regulation of candy intake before and after a meal. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:09:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a03198e80b894288b6fa0704773840bd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:09:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-a03198e80b894288b6fa0704773840bd2023-11-30T21:43:04ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672022-12-011015210.3390/children10010052Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and AppetiteErika Hernandez0Amy M. Moore1Brandi Y. Rollins2Alison Tovar3Jennifer S. Savage4Center for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USACenter for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USABiobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 118 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802, USADepartment of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USACenter for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USACandy provides little nutritional value and contributes to children’s energy intake from added sugars. Factors influencing children’s candy intake remain largely unknown. This study describes children’s total candy intake (kcal) before and after a meal and examines associations of candy intake in both conditions with children’s temperament and appetite among a predominantly White, highly educated sample. Children (<i>n</i> = 38, age 5–8 years) were given free access to 11 candies (5 chocolate, 6 non-chocolate) and non-food alternatives during a pre-meal and a post-meal condition. Parents completed the Child Behavior Questionnaire and the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Total candy intake was less when offered after a meal (209.3 kcal; SD = 111.25) than before a meal when still hungry (283.6 kcal; SD = 167.3), but not statistically different. Individual differences in candy intake between conditions was calculated to categorize children into three groups: “Better Regulators” consumed more candy before a meal (39%), “Consistent/Poorer Regulators” consumed similar amounts before and after a meal regardless of hunger (32%), and “Most Disinhibited” children consumed more candy after a meal when not hungry (29%). The “Better Regulators” group was lowest in negative affect and the “Consistent/Poorer Regulators” group was highest in food responsiveness. Children’s candy intake was high relative to daily energy needs both before and after a meal. Child negative affect and food responsiveness appear to be child characteristics that predispose children to poor self-regulation of candy intake before and after a meal.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/1/52eating in the absence of hungertemperamentappetitecandy |
| spellingShingle | Erika Hernandez Amy M. Moore Brandi Y. Rollins Alison Tovar Jennifer S. Savage Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite Children eating in the absence of hunger temperament appetite candy |
| title | Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite |
| title_full | Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite |
| title_fullStr | Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite |
| title_short | Sorry Parents, Children Consume High Amounts of Candy before and after a Meal: Within-Person Comparisons of Children’s Candy Intake and Associations with Temperament and Appetite |
| title_sort | sorry parents children consume high amounts of candy before and after a meal within person comparisons of children s candy intake and associations with temperament and appetite |
| topic | eating in the absence of hunger temperament appetite candy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/1/52 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erikahernandez sorryparentschildrenconsumehighamountsofcandybeforeandafteramealwithinpersoncomparisonsofchildrenscandyintakeandassociationswithtemperamentandappetite AT amymmoore sorryparentschildrenconsumehighamountsofcandybeforeandafteramealwithinpersoncomparisonsofchildrenscandyintakeandassociationswithtemperamentandappetite AT brandiyrollins sorryparentschildrenconsumehighamountsofcandybeforeandafteramealwithinpersoncomparisonsofchildrenscandyintakeandassociationswithtemperamentandappetite AT alisontovar sorryparentschildrenconsumehighamountsofcandybeforeandafteramealwithinpersoncomparisonsofchildrenscandyintakeandassociationswithtemperamentandappetite AT jenniferssavage sorryparentschildrenconsumehighamountsofcandybeforeandafteramealwithinpersoncomparisonsofchildrenscandyintakeandassociationswithtemperamentandappetite |