2023-10-31 12:00:00
From the age of 4, children tend to consume on average 79% more calories when they are bored. – Credit:NICOLAS GUYONNET / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
A little moment of boredom and you head to the candy cupboard or a bag of chips… According to a recent study conducted at Aston University (United States), children have the same reflex… from a very young age. Researchers have found that this emotional eating begins at the age of 4. According to the conclusions of this study, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, bored children eat five times more kilocalories (104 kcal) than when they are in a neutral mood (21 kcal). In fact, children from the age of 4 tend to consume on average 79% more calories when they are bored.
This is even more true for the most emotional children. The latter, whose parents tend to use food to appease them, eat five times more calories when they are bored. “Often, when children are experiencing negative emotions like boredom or sadness, adults use food to soothe them. However, this behavior, known as emotional eating, appears to increase the likelihood that children will eat more when they are upset, potentially teaching them to seek comfort in food when their mood is low. the study press release. To reach this conclusion, the researchers questioned parents about the feeding practices they used with their children. […] Read more
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