Eating in the absence of hunger and overweight in girls from 5 to 7 y of age

Background: Eating when exposed to large portions of palatable foods in the absence of hunger has been suggested to contribute to overweight. Objective: This research evaluated whether young girls' eating in the absence of hunger was stable across a 2-y period in middle childhood, was associated with an increased risk of overweight, and could be predicted by parents' use of restriction in child feeding. Design: The participants were 192 non-Hispanic white girls and their parents, assessed when the girls were 5 and 7 y of age. The girls' eating when exposed to palatable foods in the absence of hunger was measured after they consumed a standard lunch and indicated that they were no longer hungry. Results: Eating in the absence of hunger showed moderate stability across the 2-y period for most of the girls. The girls who ate large amounts of snack foods in the absence of hunger at 5 and 7 y of age were 4.6 times as likely to be overweight at both ages. Parents' reports of restricting their daughter's access to foods at age 5 y predicted girls' eating in the absence of hunger at age 7 y, even when the girls' weight status and eating in the absence of hunger at age 5 y were controlled for. Conclusions: This study provides the first evidence that young girls' eating in the absence of hunger may represent a stable phenotypic behavior of young overweight girls. In addition, these findings are consistent with previous work indicating that parents' restrictive feeding practices may contribute to this behavior.