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 Well Do Children With Autism Understand Their Talking Parents?

    How Well Do Children With Autism Understand Their Talking Parents?

    Spread the loveBrain News – A new study recently explored…

  • How Do We Cope With Climate Anxiety?

    How Do We Cope With Climate Anxiety?

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A group of researchers studied…

  • Can Psychology Truly Support Social Change In India?

    In the wake of the recent farmers’ protests, scholars criticize…

  • Fuel Poverty Gets ‘Under the Skin’ And Impacts People’s Wellbeing, Research Finds

    Fuel Poverty Gets ‘Under the Skin’ And Impacts People’s Wellbeing, Research Finds

    Spread the loveHealth News – Researchers have examined the link…

  • Excess Body Fat Reduces Cognition, Research Finds

    Excess Body Fat Reduces Cognition, Research Finds

    Spread the loveHealth News – Research provides insight into the…

  • Mind the ‘Mind’ And Not The ‘Marks’: Researchers Warn About Mental Health Of Children In India

    Post-pandemic India saw a mental health crisis in children. This…

  • Urban Areas Have Better Access To Mental Health Services, Study Finds

    Urban Areas Have Better Access To Mental Health Services, Study Finds

    Spread the loveHealth News – A new study examines the…

  • Social Isolation Is Linked To Cardiovascular Diseases, Study Finds

    Social Isolation Is Linked To Cardiovascular Diseases, Study Finds

    Spread the loveHealth News – A study revealed that social…

  • Wisdom Is Gendered, Research Reveals

    Wisdom Is Gendered, Research Reveals

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A new study examines how…

  • People With Anxiety Can Find Relief With ASMR-videos

    People With Anxiety Can Find Relief With ASMR-videos

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A study examines interventions for…

  • Research Disputes Older Notions Of Cognitive Functioning

    Research Disputes Older Notions Of Cognitive Functioning

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A new study explains why…

  • Why Emotional Intelligence And Mental Health Should Be Added In The Curriculum

    Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a valued skill. It should be…

  • Study Provides Insight Into How We Categorize In Life

    Study Provides Insight Into How We Categorize In Life

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A study examined the cognitive…

  • Research Provides New Insight Into The Nature Of Migraines

    Spread the loveBrain News – A new study has delved…

  • Why Is Young India So Hesitant About Its Own Mental Health?

    A UNESCO study finds mental health support to be deeply…

  • A Brain Region Is Responsible For Humans Speaking The Intended Words, Study Finds

    A Brain Region Is Responsible For Humans Speaking The Intended Words, Study Finds

    Spread the loveBrain News – A study provides insight into…

  • Free Walking Enhances Creativity, Research Finds

    Free Walking Enhances Creativity, Research Finds

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A study links creativity to…

  • Sitharaman Announces Mental Healthcare Program In Budget 2022

    Spread the love Finance Minister announces a tele-counseling program in…

  • Study Provides Insight Into Brain Fog In Long COVID

    Study Provides Insight Into Brain Fog In Long COVID

    Spread the loveBrain News – A study explores cognitive problems…

  • Great Social “Click” Means Faster Conversational Response, Study Finds

    Great Social “Click” Means Faster Conversational Response, Study Finds

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A study at Dartmouth University…

  • Like A News Feed—The Human Brain Also Has A Refresh Button, Research Says

    Like A News Feed—The Human Brain Also Has A Refresh Button, Research Says

    Spread the loveBrain News – A study reveals that the…

  • Prioritizing Adolescent Health In Post-Pandemic India

    To combat compromised adolescent welfare in post-pandemic India, one must…

  • Study Links Genetic Disruption In Brain Cell-development To Mental Disorders

    Study Links Genetic Disruption In Brain Cell-development To Mental Disorders

    Spread the loveBrain News – A study finds that gene-conditioned…

  • The New 2022 Challenge: Talking About Mental Health

    With the Covid-19 pandemic extracting a heavy price, it’s important…

  • Study Uses Haunted-house Experience To Examine “Fight Or Flight” Human Response

    Study Uses Haunted-house Experience To Examine “Fight Or Flight” Human Response

    Spread the lovePsychology News – In a bid to understand…

  • A Fixed Number Of “Sessions” Fix Cognitive Decline, Study Claims

    Spread the loveBrain News – A study at Université de…

  • Sad Moods Are Fixed By ‘Perceived’ Strong Skills, Says Research

    Spread the lovePsychology News – A study reveals that implementing…