Control of Body Weight by Eating Behavior in Children

Abstract

Diet, exercise, and pharmacological interventions have limited effects in counteracting the worldwide increase in pediatric body weight. Moreover, the promise that individualized drug design will work to induce weight loss appears to be exaggerated. We suggest that the reason for this limited success is that the cause of obesity has been misunderstood. Body weight is mainly under external control; our brain permits us to eat under most circumstances, and unless the financial or physical cost of food is high, eating and body weight increase by default. When energy-rich, inexpensive foods are continually available, people need external support to maintain a healthy body weight. Weight loss can thereby be achieved by continuous feedback on how much and how fast to eat on a computer screen.

Keywords: body weight; brain; children; eating behavior; genes.

Figure 1

Fasting concentrations of ghrelin in 13 adolescents who received a standard diet intervention for 12 months, and in 14 who practiced eating at a reduced speed for 12 months. The children were on average 12.5 years old, the values are mean (SD).

Figure 2

Food intake during the school lunch in 18 girls and 12 boys. The children had their speed of eating experimentally increased, unchanged, or decreased in relation to its value in a meal eaten without constraints, the values are expressed as percent of that value. Green lines indicate individuals able to maintain their food intake independent of the speed of eating. The children were on average 13 years old.