title: Does maternal history of eating disorders predict mothers' feeding practices and preschoolers' emotional eating?
abstract: We aimed to examine whether a maternal history of eating disorders predicted mothers' feeding practices and preschoolers' emotional eating patterns. Data were available from 4851 mothers and their children, who participated in a Dutch population-based cohort study (the Generation R Study). Maternal history of lifetime eating disorders was assessed during pregnancy using a self-report questionnaire. Mothers filled out the Child Feeding Questionnaire and the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire when children were four years old. Linear regression analyses were performed, adjusting for potential confounders. Of all mothers, 8.6% had a history of an eating disorder (2.5% anorexia nervosa (AN); 3.9% bulimia nervosa (BN); 2.2% both AN and BN). Compared to mothers without a history of eating disorders, mothers with a history of eating disorders, in particular AN, used less pressuring feeding strategies (standardized B = -0.30; 95% CI: -0.49, -0.11). Children of mothers with a history of AN had relatively high levels of emotional overeating (standardized B = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.39). Maternal history of BN was not related to mothers' feeding practices or children's emotional eating. Overall, the levels of emotional overeating among children of mothers with a history of eating disorders are noteworthy, particularly considering the young age (4 years) of participating children. This finding may reflect an effect of maternal eating disorders on the development of disordered eating patterns, but could also be subject to mothers' perception.
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lisanne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de Barse
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tharner
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Micali
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2060, Rotterdam 3000 CB, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent V W
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2060, Rotterdam 3000 CB, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Oscar H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2060, Rotterdam 3000 CB, Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2060, Rotterdam 3000 CB, Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, Rotterdam 3000 DR, Netherlands. Electronic address: p.w.jansen@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Pauline W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Jansen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000523:psychology; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Children; Eating disorders; Emotional eating behavior; Feeding practices; Mothers