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Associations Between Household Chaos and Appetitive Traits in Preschoolers and Preadolescents

Zhuoya Zhang1, Delaina Carlson1, Caroline Borowy1

  • 1Dartmouth College.

Research Square
|January 9, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Household chaos is linked to children

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Household chaos is a potential risk factor for childhood obesity.
  • Mechanisms linking chaos to obesity require further investigation.
  • This study examines chaos and appetitive traits in preschoolers and preadolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate cross-sectional associations between household chaos and appetitive traits.
  • To analyze these associations in two distinct age groups: preschoolers and preadolescents.
  • To identify potential pathways through which household chaos influences eating behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Parents completed validated questionnaires on household chaos and child eating behaviors.
  • Appetitive traits, including eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), were assessed.
  • Linear mixed-effect models analyzed associations, adjusting for covariates like age, sex, income, sleep, and parenting style.

Main Results:

  • Household chaos and appetitive traits demonstrated moderate to high stability over time.
  • Chaos positively correlated with emotional overeating in both age groups.
  • In preadolescents, chaos linked to higher food responsiveness and lower satiety responsiveness.

Conclusions:

  • Household chaos may contribute to childhood obesity risk.
  • This contribution appears to be mediated by alterations in children's appetitive traits.
  • Interventions addressing household environments could mitigate obesity risk.
Abstract

Keywords:
appetitive traitchildhood obesityeating behavioreating in the absence of hungerhedonic eatinghousehold chaosmiddle childhoodpreadolescentpreschooler

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