Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Is decision-making ability related to food choice and facets of eating behaviour in adolescents?
Rosemarie Macchi1, Laura MacKew1, Caroline Davis1
1Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Purpose:
To test the prediction that poor decision-making would predict poor eating-related behaviours, which in turn would relate to elevated body mass index (BMI) percentile.
Methods:
Associations among decision-making ability, eating behaviours, and BMI percentile were examined in a sample of 311 healthy male and female adolescents, aged 14-18 years. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed relationships.
Results:
The predicted model was a good fit to the data and all paths between latent and indicator variables were significant. Impulsive responding significantly predicted poor food choice and overeating. No significant relationships emerged between eating-related variables and BMI percentile.
Conclusions:
Findings from this study extend the existing research in adults and offer a more comprehensive understanding of factors that may contribute to eating behaviours and weight status in teenagers.
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