Toddler self-regulation skills predict risk for pediatric obesity.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of early self-regulation skills, including emotion regulation, sustained attention and inhibitory control/reward sensitivity, in predicting pediatric obesity in early childhood.


METHODS
Participants for this study included 57 children (25 girls) obtained from three different cohorts participating in a larger ongoing longitudinal study. At 2 years of age, participants participated in several laboratory tasks designed to assess their self-regulation skills. Height and weight measures were collected when children were 2 and 5.5 years of age.


RESULTS
Self-regulation skills in toddlerhood were predictive of both normal variations in body mass index (BMI) development and pediatric obesity. Specifically, emotion regulation was the primary self-regulation skill involved in predicting normative changes in BMI as no effects were found for sustained attention or inhibitory control/reward sensitivity. However, both emotion regulation and inhibitory control/reward sensitivity predicted more extreme weight problems (that is, pediatric obesity), even after controlling for 2-year BMI. Thus, toddlers with poor emotion regulation skills and lower inhibitory control skills/higher reward sensitivity were more likely to be classified as overweight/at risk at 5.5 years of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Early self-regulation difficulties across domains (that is, behavioral and emotional) represent significant individual risk factors for the development of pediatric obesity. Mechanisms by which early self-regulation skills may contribute to the development of pediatric obesity are discussed.
Graziano
P A
PA
Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0165, USA. pagrazia@ufl.edu
Calkins
S D
SD
Keane
S P
SP
D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology