Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Young Children: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

A substantial body of research suggests that efforts to prevent pediatric obesity may benefit from targeting not just what a child eats, but how they eat. Specifically, child obesity prevention should include a component which addresses reasons why children having differing abilities to start and stop eating in response to internal cues of hunger and satiety, a construct known as “eating self-regulation”. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding how caregivers can be an important influence on children’s eating self-regulation during early childhood. First, we discuss the evidence supporting an association between caregiver feeding and child eating self-regulation. Second, we provide recommendations for caregivers on how to lower children’s obesity risk by supporting their eating self-regulation. Finally, we consider these recommendations in the light of a broader social, economic and cultural context and the implications of this context for implementation. As far as we are aware, this is the first American Heart Association Scientific Statement to focus on a psychobehavioral approach to reducing obesity risk in young children. It is anticipated that the timely information provided in this review can be utilized not only by immediate caregivers within the immediate and extended family but also by a broad range of community-based care providers.