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Published on: June 5, 2016
Infant Distress in a Food Delay Task Changes With Development and Predicts Amount Consumed
Sara F Stein1,2, Hurley O Riley1, Niko Kaciroti3
1Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
Insights
Infant distress during feeding delays changes with age, with later distress predicting increased milk consumption as infants grow older. This suggests early markers for eating behavior regulation can be identified in infancy.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Infant feeding behavior
- Self-regulation
Background:
- Eating behavior regulation develops early, involving self-regulation, appetite control, and purposeful eating.
- Limited research exists on eating behavior regulation development before preschool years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess infant distress using a novel food delay task as an early marker of eating behavior regulation.
- To examine the association between infant distress and milk consumption in early infancy.
Main Methods:
- Mother-infant dyads (n=179) participated in the Ability to Delay Gratification for Food in Infants Task (ATDG-FIT) at 2, 8, and 16 weeks.
- The task involved pre-feeding and mid-feeding delays before infants were fed, with distress and milk intake measured.
Main Results:
- Infant distress during pre-feeding delays decreased from 8 to 16 weeks.
- Distress during mid-feeding delays increased from 2 to 8 weeks.
- Increased mid-feeding distress was associated with greater milk consumption, an effect that strengthened with age.
Conclusions:
- The ATDG-FIT is a promising tool for assessing early eating behavior regulation in infants.
- Infant distress during feeding delays provides insights into developing self-regulation of eating.
Objective:
Eating behavior regulation emerges during early development and involves general self-regulation (emotional, behavioral), appetite regulation (homeostatic metabolic need) and appetite self-regulation (including both Bottom-Up Food Approach and Bottom-Up Food Avoidance and top-down purposeful self-control of eating). Limited research has investigated developmental trajectories of the regulation of eating behavior before the preschool years. The current study used a novel food delay task to assess infant distress as an early emerging marker of eating behavior regulation constructs across early infancy and examine associations with amount of milk consumed.
Method:
Mother-infant dyads (n = 179) completed the Ability to Delay Gratification for Food in Infants Task (ATDG-FIT) at 2 weeks, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks of age. The ATDG-FIT required infants to wait before being fed while their bottle was present, but not accessible (3-min Pre-Feeding Delay). After this, the infant was fed for 1 min, then the feeding was paused for 30 s (Mid-Feeding Delay). Infant distress was coded during each feeding delay period and the amount of milk consumed was measured.
Results:
The mean proportion of distress during the Pre-Feeding Delay period decreased from 8 to 16 weeks of age (F(2,230) = 15.02, p < 0.001), whereas the mean proportion of distress during the Mid-Feeding Delay increased from 2 to 8 weeks of age (F(2,230) = 27.04, p < 0.001). There was a positive interaction between distress during Mid-Feeding Delay and infant age predicting the amount consumed in the protocol (ß = 0.30, p = 0.022), suggesting that the association between distress during this part of the task and amount consumed strengthens as infants get older.
Conclusion:
The ATDG-FIT may be an effective method to assess emerging eating behavior regulation constructs during early infancy.
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