Regulating bodily states and emotions: the influence of child and caregiver factors on emotional eating in 18-month-old toddlers

Parental feeding practices, child temperament, and poor emotion regulation abilities are central factors associated with Emotional Eating (EE) during childhood (3-10 years). Yet, it is poorly understood how children develop EE behaviours in early life. This experimental study investigated the influences of parental and child factors on early expression of EE behaviours in 18-month-old toddlers (N = 71). Toddlers attended the lab twice. After eating lunch to satiation, we manipulated internal emotional states and examined how toddlers regulated their responses to a mildly stressful (experimental) task compared to a control task, using the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery "attractive toy behind a barrier" task. Immediately after, an Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) protocol was administered. Toddlers' behaviours during each task were coded, along with measuring the energy consumption of snack food items. We found that experimental condition alone did not predict EE. However, toddlers exhibiting higher behavioural reactivity to changes in emotional state showed higher EE and consumed more energy. Higher parental use of food to regulate emotions predicted fewer calories EAH. Child eating traits were not found to be predictive of EE in the absence of hunger. We conclude that EE is a behaviour performed by some toddlers, yet an emotional perturbation alone is not enough to elicit EE at this developmental stage. Having a temperament that results in high behavioural reactivity to the situation and poor emotional regulation abilities may facilitate EE's occurrence. Future research should further investigate how both individual and situational factors interact to inform the development of EE in early life.