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Musical intervention and food preferences in girls born with lower birth weight

Cláudia Lopes Braga1, Bruna Luciano Farias1, Roberta Sena Reis1

  • 1PPG Saúde da Criança e do Adolescente, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90035-903, Brazil.

Early Human Development
|September 20, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Early musical intervention may help girls born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduce their preference for sugary foods. This intervention appears to moderate the link between IUGR and later food choices, potentially lowering obesity risk.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Children born after intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) face higher obesity risks due to increased palatable food intake.
  • Musical exposure activates brain reward pathways, similar to food rewards, suggesting a potential link between music and eating behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess how musical intervention in mother/infant pairs affects childhood feeding behaviors, specifically concerning birth weight.
  • To investigate the moderating role of music exposure on the relationship between IUGR, sex, and food consumption.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study comparing 28 children exposed to a structured musical intervention with an age-matched control group.
  • Food frequency questionnaires and anthropometric evaluations were used to assess dietary intake and nutritional status.
  • General linear models analyzed the interaction between music exposure, birth weight, sex, and food consumption, adjusting for socioeconomic factors.

Main Results:

  • A significant interaction was found between birth weight, sex, and musical intervention regarding sugar consumption (p=0.02).
  • Children in the control group consumed more sugar with lower birth weights.
  • This effect was not observed in girls or boys exposed to the musical intervention, suggesting music may mitigate sugar preference in this group.

Conclusions:

  • Early musical intervention in mother/infant pairs may offer a strategy to moderate the impact of IUGR on palatable food preferences, particularly in girls.
  • This intervention could potentially influence long-term eating behaviors and reduce obesity risk in vulnerable populations.
Abstract

Keywords:
AppetiteDOHaDIUGRMusic

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