BACKGROUND Early feeding practices lay the foundation for children's eating habits and weight gain. Questionnaires are available to assess parental feeding but overlapping and inconsistent items, subscales and terminology limit conceptual clarity and between study comparisons. Our aim was to consolidate a range of existing items into a parsimonious and conceptually robust questionnaire for asse...

Problematic eating behaviours during early childhood could be mediators of poor dietary habits. This study aims to prospectively relate early eating behaviours with fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and a healthy diet variety score of children aged between 4 and 5 years. Eating behaviours were assessed in three European birth cohorts (Generation XXI from Portugal, ALSPAC from the UK and EDEN fro...

Some parent feeding practices have been linked to disordered eating and higher BMIs in children. Relatively little research has examined factors that influence parent feeding practices. The aim of this study was to identify relationships between the parent feeding practices that have been linked to unhealthy eating patterns in children, and parent body image, eating attitudes, behaviours, and k...

BACKGROUND This study examined bidirectional relationships between maternal feeding practices and child food responsiveness and satiety responsiveness from 2 to 5 years. METHODS Mothers (N = 207) reported their own feeding practices and child eating behaviours using validated questionnaires at child ages 2, 3.7, and 5 years. Cross-lagged analyses were conducted to test for bidirectional effec...

The genetics of complex social behaviour can be dissected by examining the genetic influences of component pathways, which can be predicted based on expected evolutionary precursors. Here, we examine how gene expression in a pathway that influences the motivation to eat is altered during parental care that involves direct feeding of larvae. We examine the expression of neuropeptide F, and its r...

Objectives: The present study aimed to ascertain whether parental reports of their feeding practices are associated with independent observations of these behaviours, and whether the reliability of maternal report depends upon the child’s weight. Methods: 56 mothers and their children ate a lunch to satiety which was videotaped and coded for maternal use of control during feeding. Mothers also ...

AIMS To examine the relation between colic and feeding difficulties and their impact on parental functioning for a primarily clinic referred sample. METHODS Forty three infants (and their mothers) were enrolled between 6 and 8 weeks of age. Infants were divided into two groups, colic (n = 19) and comparison (n = 24), based on a modified Wessel rule of three criteria for colic. Families were a...

OBJECTIVES One means through which children learn eating behaviours is the feeding strategies used by parents. Although research has studied the effects of parental feeding strategies on consumption, choice, and liking, little is known about the goals parents themselves seek. The study aimed to explore the feeding goals sought by parents of preschool children. DESIGN An exploratory qualitativ...

The evolution and expression of different forms of cooperative behaviour (e.g. feeding, guarding, sentinel duties, etc.) are usually studied independently, with few studies considering them as a single syndrome. However, studies investigating individuals' investment across a suite of different behaviours reveal that they are correlated, suggesting a single mechanism determining the evolution an...

OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to ascertain whether parental reports of their feeding practices are associated with independent observations of these behaviours, and whether the reliability of maternal report depends upon the child's weight. METHODS A total of 56 mothers and their children ate a lunch to satiety which was videotaped and coded for maternal use of control during feeding. Mo...