title: Diurnal cortisol pattern, eating behaviors and overweight in low-income preschool-aged children.
abstract: This study examined, among children, the associations among chaos in the home, diurnal cortisol patterns, eating behaviors and being overweight. Participants included 331 low-income children aged 3-4years. Mean salivary cortisol-intercept (representing morning peak, 60min since waking) and cortisol-slope (representing diurnal decline after peak) were calculated using mixed models from samples obtained across 3days. Parents reported chaos in the home by questionnaire and responded to the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, generating subscales Food Responsiveness (FR), Emotional Overeating (EO), Enjoyment of Food (EF), and Satiety Responsiveness (SR). Body mass index was categorized as overweight vs. not. Path analysis evaluated associations among chaos, cortisol patterns, eating behaviors, and weight status. Children living in more chaotic homes had lower morning cortisol levels, consistent with "hypocortisolism" reported among individuals who have experienced significant allostatic load as a result of substantial early life chronic stress. Among girls, the hypocortisolism pattern predicted a higher likelihood of being overweight both directly and mediated through reduced Satiety Responsiveness; in boys, the association of the hypocortisolism pattern with being overweight was mediated entirely through Emotional Overeating. In summary, our results provide support for the conceptual model that psychosocial stress contributes to hypocortisolism, which contributes directly to a higher likelihood of being overweight in girls, and indirectly through reduced Satiety Responsiveness in girls and through increased Emotional Overeating in boys.
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Electronic address: jlumeng@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lumeng
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Departments of Nutrition and of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaciroti
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sturza
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Delia M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Vazquez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052636:Allostasis; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004435:Eating; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents; D011203:Poverty; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012528:Satiety Response; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014851:Wakefulness
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: BMI; Child; Cortisol; Eating behavior; HPA; ITN; Obesity; Overweight; SD; Stress; body mass index; hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis; income-to-needs; standard deviation