Externality and locus of control in obese children

Fifty-nine obese and normal-weight children, aged 8-12 years were compared on two dimensions of "externality," previously examined in obese adults. Significant sex difference indicated that boys generally ate more than girls and held more internal locus of control expectancies. However, obese and normal-weight children were not differentiated by their performance on either a food-related or three nonfood-related measures of external-cue responsiveness, nor by their locus of control expectancies. Furthermore, the various measures were neither strongly nor consistently intercorrelated, providing little support for the notion of a single underlying dimension of "externality." The contribution of physiological, sensory, cognitive-motivational, and sociocultural parameters to the regulation of eating behavior was discussed.