Evaluating bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent executive control and eating behaviors

Adolescent eating behaviors are often characterized by poor dietary quality. Executive control (EC), also called executive function, a collection of cognitive processes under continued development in adolescence, has been proposed to influence and be affected by adolescent eating behaviors. However, conceptual and methodological limitations have hindered our understanding of the nature of these associations. The current study investigated bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent EC and eating behaviors (i.e., dietary quality, fruit and vegetable intake, added sugar and saturated fat intake) across a one-year interval. As part of a longitudinal study on cognitive development and health, U.S. adolescents (N = 222, 54 % female, ages 14-18; data collected between 2017 and 2024) completed a battery of neuropsychological EC tasks and multiple 24-h dietary recalls during two timepoints in adolescence, approximately one year apart. Structural equation modeling with autoregressive controls was used. Better EC task performance at Time 1 (M age = 15.33, SD = 1.15), as modeled by a unitary latent factor, significantly predicted greater fruit and vegetable intake during the Time 2 assessment (M age = 16.2, SD = .99). No other paths between EC and eating behaviors were significant. Findings suggest adolescent EC may be an important intervention target to increase fruit and vegetable intake.