Low Moods Make Your Children’s Food Choices Unhealthy: Study

news 31 July featured
Spread the love

Psychology News

Researchers at the research group, Elsevier, studied how emotions influence children’s food choices. The study is published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

The Study

The researchers surveyed 195 ethnically diverse children studying in the third to sixth grades. The participants used a mobile phone app and were contacted seven times daily to answer questions. They were asked questions about their emotions (stress, anger, and sadness) and unhealthy eating choices (fried foods, sweets, and sugary beverages).

The Findings

The results revealed that emotional factors influencing children’s food choices are also linked to childhood obesity. It was found that negative moods positively influence fatty food intake and trigger unhealthy eating in children. Especially over weekends, children’s unhealthy food choices increase, thanks to their mood fluctuations.

Towards Interventions

The researchers recommended incorporating mood and emotion-based components into interventions that can improve dietary outcomes, eating behaviors, and choices of healthy food for kids.

One of the lead researchers, Christine Hotaru Naya, elaborated: “[This study] is a good start on [the] path to recognizing how to approach food choices with a person’s mood and emotions in mind. We could improve our current interventions to be individually tailored to the environmental, social, emotional, and cognitive contexts in which unhealthy eating occurs.

To Know More You May Refer To

Naya, C. H., Chu, D., Wang, W. L., Nicolo, M., Dunton, G. F., & Mason, T. B. (2022). Children’s Daily Negative Affect Patterns and Food Consumption on Weekends: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study. Journal of nutrition education and behavior54(7), 600–609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2022.02.007


Spread the love
  • How Does Mental Health Therapy With A Desi Touch Works In India?

    Mental health experts opine that decolonized and ‘Indianized’ therapy approaches…

  • Copying Others In Social Situations Makes You A Risk Taker: Study

    Researchers at the University of Konstanz (Germany) explored the link…

  • Music And Empathy Can Enhance Our Social Cognition, Study Finds

    A team of international researchers at Southern Methodist University explored…

  • Is There Any Link Between Changes In Climate And Sleep Loss?

    Recent research explores the link between climate change and sleeps…

  • Can Video Games Improve Intelligence In Children?

    Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, explored how video games enhanced…

  • People Choose Healthier Food For Fear Of Judgment, Study Finds

    Researchers studied how people choose healthier food options to impress…

  • Having A Large Family Size Impacts Cognition In Old Age: Study

    Researchers explored the link between high fertility, family size, and…

  • Did You Know Intense Sports Training Affects Our Mood?

    Researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain, studied how…

  • Mental Health And Dating: Is There A Link?

    Experts opine the links between dating apps, dating lives, and…

  • Is It True That Sleep Helps To Process Emotions?

    Researchers explored how sleep helps to process emotions and memories.

  • Study Finds The Difference Between Psychopaths and Non-Psychopaths

    Researchers studied the underlying neurodevelopmental mechanisms in psychopathy.

  • Eye Blinks Reveal If People Are Interacting Meaningfully, Study Finds

    Dutch researchers explored how eye blinks are important communicative signals…

  • Raising Mental Health Awareness At School – Need Of The Hour

    Experts recommend policies and programs that foster mental health awareness…

  • People With Borderline Personality Traits Lack Empathy, Study Finds

    Researchers at the University of Georgia explored the link between…

  • Religion Is Linked To Poor Sleep, Study Finds

    A team of researchers studied the link between religion and…

  • Research Pinpoints The Link Between Migraine Headaches And Motion Sickness

    Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology provide insight into…

  • Gene Editing Can Treat Anxiety And Alcoholism, Study Finds

    Researchers at the University of Illinois explored how gene editing…

  • How Men Face Abuse Often And Impact on Their Mental Health

    How Men Face Abuse Often And Impact on Their Mental Health

    Research reveals how men’s mental health is often overlooked, even…

  • Research Reveals How The Brain Says “Oops!”

    Researchers uncovered the neural signals and pathways associated with performance…

  • How Does Parental Domestic Violence Affect Us In The Long Run?

    Research shows that witnessing domestic violence in childhood makes people…

  • Study Identifies The Neural Mechanisms Associated With The “Pleasant Touch”

    Researchers identified the neural mechanisms that transmit the sensation of…

  • Certain Brain Networks Aid Weight Loss, Research Reveals

    Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine explored how…

  • Cognitive Dysfunction Influences Paranormal Beliefs, Study Finds

    Researchers trace the link between paranormal beliefs and cognitive dysfunction.

  • Perfectionism Leads To Athlete Burnout, Researchers Claim

    Researchers at the University of Essex explored the link between…

  • Being In Nature Improves Our Dietary Habits, Study Finds

    Researchers at Drexel University explored how being in nature influences…

  • Is Parental “Silent Treatment” Emotional Abuse?

    Child specialists weigh the impact of silent treatment as a…

  • Women Respond Better Than Men In Alzheimer’s Intervention, Study Finds

    Researchers at Florida Atlantic University explored how customized clinical interventions…