Children Learn Emotional Eating, Study Says

A study found that children’s emotional eating is learned and not inherited. Researchers from University College London determined if genetic or environmental factors influenced a child’s emotional eating habits. They did so by analyzing 398 genetically identical and non-identical British twins who were four years old. Half of the twins had obese parents, while the other half had parents who were of normal weight. Those with obese parents are more genetically at risk of obesity. The parents were then asked to describe their children’s eating habits when experiencing different emotions, such as irritability and sadness. Using the parents’ responses, the researchers drew comparisons between the identical and non-identical twins in terms of emotional eating. Findings showed no significant variations between the identical and non-identical twins’ rate of emotional eating, which implied that genes had little to no influence on the behavior. Instead, home environment turned out to be the major factor behind emotional eating. This is because some parenting styles involve letting upset children indulge in their favorite food as a way to appease them. Lead author Dr. Clare Llewellyn [loo-EL-in] warned that emotional eating may be unhealthy. She explained that eating more to ward off negative emotions can increase the risk of obesity and binge-eating disorder, while eating less may lead to anorexia nervosa. Dietitians of Canada national representative Lalitha Taylor said that parents can help their children develop a healthy relationship with food. According to Taylor, children learn to link food with some behaviors when parents use food for reinforcement. Therefore, Taylor recommended avoiding giving food as rewards to children and give other things that they enjoy.