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Context Matters: Preliminary Evidence That the Association between Positive Affect and Adiposity in Infancy Varies in

Alexis C Wood1, Shabnam R Momin1, MacKenzie K Senn1

  • 1USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, 1100 Bates Avenue, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Nutrients
|June 24, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Infant positive affect shows varied links to adiposity. Non-social positive affect at 4 months predicted higher weight-for-length at 12 months, while social positive affect predicted lower body fat.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Health
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Previous research links infant negative affect to higher adiposity, potentially through nutritional pathways like "feeding to soothe."
  • Limited research exists on the relationship between infant positive affect and adiposity.
  • Understanding early emotional expression's impact on infant body composition is crucial for long-term health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between infant adiposity and positive affect.
  • To examine whether the context of positive affect (social vs. non-social) influences its relationship with adiposity.
  • To explore these relationships in infants at 4 and 12 months of age.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 125 infants at 4 months and 80 infants at 12 months.
  • Observed and analyzed positive affect in both social and non-social contexts.
  • Measured adiposity using weight-for-length z-scores (zWFL) and body fat percentage.

Main Results:

  • No significant cross-sectional associations were found between positive affect and adiposity at either time point (p > 0.05).
  • Longitudinally, non-social positive affect at 4 months was positively associated with zWFL at 12 months (ß = 1.49, p = 0.03).
  • Conversely, social positive affect at 4 months was inversely associated with body fat percentage at 12 months (ß = -11.41, p = 0.04).

Conclusions:

  • Preliminary evidence suggests a link between infant positive affect and adiposity, with context being a key moderator.
  • The direction of the association (direct or inverse) appears dependent on whether positive affect is observed in a social or non-social setting.
  • Future research should explore the role of nutritional status in mediating the relationship between infant emotion and adiposity.

Keywords:
BMIadipositycontextdevelopmentinfancylongitudinalpositive affectsituational effectstemperamentweight-for-length

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