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Published on: December 2, 2015
Emotional eating is learned not inherited in children, regardless of obesity risk
M Herle1, A Fildes2, C H Llewellyn3
1Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Background:
Emotional over-eating (EOE) and emotional under-eating (EUE) are common behaviours that develop in early childhood and are hypothesised to play a role in weight status. Data from a British twin cohort demonstrated that environmental, rather than genetic, factors shape individual differences in both behaviours in early childhood.
Objective:
The aim of this current study was to replicate this finding in a subsample (n = 398) of 4-year-old twins selected for high or low risk of obesity from another population-based cohort of British twins (the Twins Early Development Study).
Methods:
Parental ratings of child EOE and EUE were analysed using genetic model fitting.
Results:
Genetic influence was not significant, while shared environmental factors explained 71% (52-79%) of the variance in EOE and 77% (62-85%) in EUE. The two behaviours correlated positively (r = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.61), and about two-thirds of the shared environmental factors influencing EOE and EUE were the same (rC = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.85).
Conclusions:
Emotional eating in childhood is shaped by the home family environment; parents are therefore promising intervention targets.
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