Caution to Parents: Child Overeating May Be Linked to Boredom

Recent findings indicate that children as young as four years old can consume up to 79% more calories when they are bored compared to when they are emotionally neutral. The research underscores the unintentional role parents play in fostering this behavior by using food as a comfort mechanism during periods of emotional discomfort. The study advocates for teaching children alternative methods for coping with boredom rather than resorting to eating, and suggests that parents should seek different approaches to address their children’s lack of engagement.

A study carried out at Aston University has shown that children as young as four consume 79% more calories when bored than when they are in a balanced emotional state.

Until now, there has been no experimental research focusing specifically on the increase in food consumption in children when they are bored. According to the study’s findings, children consumed 95 kcal when they felt bored despite being full, whereas children in a neutral emotional state consumed only 59 kcal.

This groundbreaking study was spearheaded by Dr. Rebecca Stone as part of her doctoral work, under the guidance of Professors Claire Farrow and Jackie Blissett from Aston University, as well as Professor Emma Haycraft from Loughborough University.

Factors That Shape Children’s Eating Habits

The eating behaviors of children are influenced by various elements such as genetics, disposition, and also the feeding practices they are exposed to. Previous works by the authors have delved into behaviors that heighten the tendency for children to eat when experiencing negative emotions. Commonly, adults employ food as a calming method when children are dealing with negative feelings like boredom or sadness. This approach, termed emotional feeding, increases the probability of children consuming more food when they are emotionally disturbed, possibly instilling a habit of turning to food when in a low mood.

During the research, parents were surveyed about their feeding practices and their children’s temperament. After consuming a standard meal until full, the children participated in a sequence of typical situations designed to assess their emotional state, one of which was intended to be dull.

The study discovered that children who were highly emotional and whose parents frequently used food for emotional comfort ate five times more calories when bored (104 kcal), compared to a balanced emotional state (21 kcal).

Implications for Caloric Intake

Dr. Stone pointed out that if children are consuming this excess amount of calories during a single episode of laboratory-induced boredom, which lasted four minutes, the ramifications for increased calorie intake due to boredom over an extended period could be significantly high, especially in environments where food is readily available.

Historically, research on influencing factors in children’s eating habits has relied on surveys and has often grouped all negative moods, like sadness, anger, and anxiety, together. Addressing boredom as a specific factor and helping parents find alternative solutions to using food as a comfort can be a useful strategy in mitigating unhealthy snacking.

Dr. Stone emphasizes that experiencing boredom is a crucial aspect of a child’s emotional and creative development. She does not suggest that children should evade boredom but rather learn to cope without turning to food. Parents could either redirect their children’s focus away from food when they are bored or modify the home food environment to make it less appealing as a solution to boredom.

Expert Commentary and Future Research

Professor Farrow commented that although it has been generally assumed that children are prone to eating more when bored, this study is the first to experimentally validate the phenomenon. He indicated that while children’s responses do vary, the adult feeding practices play a part in the likelihood of such behavior occurring. Using food as a comfort measure may result in higher levels of emotional eating in the future, necessitating awareness among parents and caregivers of the long-term consequences.

The research team is planning to investigate other negative emotional states in children and is keen on offering guidance and support to families for effectively managing challenges related to children’s eating behaviors.

Reference: “Emotional eating following a laboratory mood induction: The interaction between parental feeding practices and child temperament” by Rebecca A. Stone, Jacqueline Blissett, Emma Haycraft, and Claire Farrow, published on 10 October 2023 in Food Quality and Preference.
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105008

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Child Overeating and Boredom

More about Child Overeating and Boredom

• Aston University Research Publications
• Food Quality and Preference Journal
• Emotional Eating in Children
• Effective Parenting Practices for Healthy Eating
• Childhood Obesity and Emotional Eating
• Dr. Rebecca Stone’s Research Profile
• Professor Claire Farrow’s Research Profile
• Professor Emma Haycraft’s Research Profile
• Child Temperament and Eating Habits
• Emotional Feeding in Children