title: Palatable food consumption in children: interplay between (food) reward motivation and the home food environment.
abstract: To understand the importance of the home food environment on unhealthy food consumption in children high in reward sensitivity, this study tested the hypothesis that the home availability of unhealthy food moderates the effect of reward sensitivity on children's fast-food consumption frequency, exerted via food cue responsiveness. Children between 7.5 and 14 years (n = 174, 50.6% boys) reported on reward sensitivity and food cue responsiveness (by means of the subscale 'external eating'). Their height and weight were measured. Parents reported on their children's fast-food consumption frequency, food cue responsiveness (by means of the subscale 'food responsiveness'), and on the home availability of unhealthy foods. Two moderated mediation models were conducted, one with the parent- and one with the child-reported food cue responsiveness as mediator. Findings suggested that with a high home availability of unhealthy foods, (a) a higher fast-food consumption frequency was found in children high in reward sensitivity and (b) the relation between reward sensitivity and the fast-food consumption frequency was mediated by external eating.
  
  
  
  The findings point at the importance of the home food environment in children high in reward sensitivity. They suggest to limit the home availability of unhealthy foods. What is Known: • Reward sensitivity (RS) is positively associated with children's palatable food consumption • In adolescents, this effect is mediated by food cue responsiveness, which determines the strength of an individual's motivation to obtain food when perceiving food cues What is New: • Children high in RS may be more vulnerable to palatable food cues in their everyday food environment because of a higher food cue responsiveness • The home food environment may be an important determining factor of the palatable food consumption of these children.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZ 4K3, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. Annelies.DeDecker@UGent.Be.
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9287-6813
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Decker
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verbeken
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZ 4K3, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.|Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sioen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZ 4K3, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van Lippevelde
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Braet
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.lastname: Eiben
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCSS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, via Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.affiliation: Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Copenhagen Business School, Porcelaenshaven 18a, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lucia A
authors.lastname: Reisch
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZ 4K3, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.|Department of Health Sciences, Vesalius, University College Ghent, Keramiekstraat 80, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Henauw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000072001:Diet, Healthy / Q000523:psychology*; D057140:Fast Foods; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010290:Parents; D012201:Reward; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Child; External eating; Food responsiveness; Home availability; Palatable food; Reward sensitivity