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Executive functioning and disinhibited eating in children and adolescents
Author(s) -
Kelly Nichole R.,
Jaramillo Manuela,
Ramirez Sophie,
Altman Deborah R.,
Rubin Sarah G.,
Yang Shanna B.,
Courville Amber B.,
Shank Lisa M.,
Byrne Meghan E.,
LemayRussell Sarah,
Brady Sheila M.,
Broadney Miranda M.,
TanofskyKraff Marian,
Yanovski Jack A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pediatric obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.226
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 2047-6310
pISSN - 2047-6302
DOI - 10.1111/ijpo.12614
Subject(s) - disinhibition , cognitive flexibility , overweight , executive functions , cognition , moderation , medicine , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , impulsivity , psychology , obesity , psychiatry , social psychology
Summary Background Executive functioning (EF) difficulties may be associated with problems regulating eating behaviours. Few studies have evaluated this question in youth using diverse measures of EF or objective measures of energy intake. Methods The current study used neuropsychological tasks and a laboratory test meal to evaluate the links between EF and youth's disinhibited eating patterns. Two‐hundred‐five nontreatment seeking youth ( M age = 13.1 ± 2.8 years; M BMI z = 0.6 ± 1.0; 33.2% overweight; 54.1% female) completed tasks measuring decision making, general and food‐specific behavioural disinhibition, willingness to delay gratification for food and money, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Age (children vs adolescents) was examined as a moderator. All analyses adjusted for demographic factors, pubertal status, lean mass (kg), fat mass (%), height, general intellectual functioning, and depressive symptoms. Results After adjusting for multiple comparisons, more general behavioural disinhibition was associated with greater total energy intake ( P = .02), and poorer cognitive flexibility was associated with more fat intake ( P = .03) across all ages. Poorer decision making in children ( P = .04), but not adolescents ( P = .24), was associated with greater fat intake. Food‐specific behavioural disinhibition, the ability to delay gratification for both food and monetary rewards, and working memory were not significantly associated with youth's disinhibited eating patterns during a single meal. Conclusions Most domains of EF were not associated with youth's disinhibited eating. Significant associations may highlight the need to target specific cognitive processes, particularly behavioural disinhibition, decision making, and cognitive flexibility, in potential intervention strategies for children's disinhibited eating.