Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec 14:12:153.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-015-0313-2.

Longitudinal association between preschool fussy eating and body composition at 6 years of age: The Generation R Study

Lisanne M de Barse  1   2 , Henning Tiemeier  3   4   5 , Elisabeth T M Leermakers  6 , Trudy Voortman  7 , Vincent W V Jaddoe  8   9   10 , Lisa R Edelson  11 , Oscar H Franco  12 , Pauline W Jansen  13   14
Affiliations

Longitudinal association between preschool fussy eating and body composition at 6 years of age: The Generation R Study

Lisanne M de Barse et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: Children's fussy eating behavior has been related to both underweight and overweight in cross-sectional studies, but the direction of these associations and the relation with more detailed measures of body composition remains unclear. We aimed to examine whether fussy eating at age 4 years is longitudinally related to body mass index (BMI), fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) at 6 years of age.

Methods: This study was embedded in Generation R, a population-based, prospective cohort. Data were available for 4191 children. The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ), administered at age 4 years, was used to derive a fussy eating profile. This profile is characterized by high scores on food avoidant scales and low scores on food approach scales. At age 6 years, height and weight were measured at our research center. Body fat and fat-free mass were measured using Dual-energy-X-ray absorptiometry. We used age- and sex-specific standard deviation scores (SDS) for all outcomes.

Results: After adjustment for confounders, the fussy eating profile was related to lower BMI-SDS (B = -0.37, 95% CI: -0.47;-0.26), lower FMI-SDS (B = -0.22, 95 % CI: -0.33;-0.12) and lower FFMI-SDS (B = -0.41, 95% CI: -0.54;-0.29). When adjusting for baseline BMI at 4 years, the fussy eating profile predicted a 0.11 lower BMI-SDS at age 6 (95% CI: -0.19;-0.04). This change in BMI was mainly due to a decrease in FFMI (B = -0.19, 95% CI: -0.29;-0.09). Fussy eaters also had a higher risk of becoming underweight than non-fussy eaters (OR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.34;3.87).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that young fussy eaters are at risk of having a lower fat free mass and of becoming underweight over a 2-year period. This implies that fussy eaters may benefit from careful monitoring to prevent an adverse growth development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Child fussy eater profile at age 4 years and risk of being underweight, overweight, or obese at 6 years. ● adjusted for potential confounders. ■ additionally adjusted for baseline BMI at 4 years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Carnell S, Wardle J. Measuring behavioural susceptibility to obesity: validation of the child eating behaviour questionnaire. Appetite. 2007;48(1):104–13. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2006.07.075. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carruth BR, Ziegler PJ, Gordon A, Barr SI. Prevalence of picky eaters among infants and toddlers and their caregivers’ decisions about offering a new food. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:57–64. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2003.10.024. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dubois L, Farmer A, Girard M, Peterson K, Tatone-Tokuda F. Problem eating behaviors related to social factors and body weight in preschool children: a longitudinal study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2007;4(1):9. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-4-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dovey TM, Staples PA, Gibson EL, Halford JCG. Food neophobia and ‘picky/fussy’ eating in children: a review. Appetite. 2008;50(2):181–93. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jacobi C, Agras WS, Bryson S, Hammer LD. Behavioral validation, precursors, and concomitants of picky eating in childhood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003;42(1):76–84. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200301000-00013. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources