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Evaluating bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent executive control and eating behaviors
Hope Thilges1, Eric M Phillips1, Emily L Goldberg1
1Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
Appetite
|December 3, 2025
Summary
Adolescent executive control (EC) may improve fruit and vegetable intake. Better EC performance in teens predicted higher consumption of fruits and vegetables a year later, suggesting EC is a potential target for dietary interventions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Nutritional Science
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Adolescent eating behaviors are frequently poor in quality.
- Executive control (EC), crucial for cognitive development, is thought to influence and be influenced by adolescent eating patterns.
- Previous research on the EC-eating behavior link is limited by conceptual and methodological constraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the bidirectional, longitudinal relationship between adolescent executive control (EC) and eating behaviors over one year.
- To investigate associations between EC and dietary quality, fruit/vegetable intake, and intake of added sugars and saturated fats.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study involving 222 U.S. adolescents (ages 14-18).
- Data collected at two time points, approximately one year apart.
- Utilized neuropsychological EC tasks and multiple 24-hour dietary recalls, analyzed with structural equation modeling.
Main Results:
- Higher executive control (EC) performance at Time 1 significantly predicted increased fruit and vegetable intake at Time 2.
- No significant associations were found between EC and overall dietary quality, or intake of added sugars and saturated fats.
- The relationship between EC and eating behaviors was not bidirectional in this study.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent executive control (EC) may play a role in promoting healthier eating habits, specifically increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.
- EC represents a potential target for interventions aimed at improving adolescent dietary intake.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex interplay between cognitive functions and eating behaviors during adolescence.
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