El comportamiento alimentario se establece desde los primeros días de vida y se puede definir como el modo en que una persona se alimenta. Este se ve influenciado por factores biológicos, ambientales y sociales. A su vez, el comportamiento alimentario condiciona la ingesta de alimentos, pudiendo contribuir al desarrollo de enfermedades a lo largo de la vida, tales como la obesidad. Esta revisión tiene como objetivo identificar los hallazgos relativos al efecto del comportamiento alimentario y sus factores determinantes sobre el consumo de alimentos y la aparición de la obesidad en niños. Los diferentes factores que influyen en el comportamiento alimentario y se han incluido en la presente revisión son: genética, sexo, nivel socioeconómico familiar, primeros años (lactancia y alimentación complementaria), estilos parentales y ambiente y acceso a alimentos. Aunque la mayoría de estudios realizados en torno a la obesidad infantil todavía se enfocan principalmente en los factores biológicos y del estilo de vida, también es importante considerar los aspectos relacionados con la conducta alimentaria en la etiología y desarrollo de esta enfermedad. En efecto, los estudios apuntan hacia la necesidad de prestar una atención especial al comportamiento y los estilos parentales, así como a la organización del ambiente alimentario familiar, con el fin de promover un comportamiento alimentario saludable en los niños. En definitiva, nuevas evidencias sobre el comportamiento alimentario, sus factores determinantes y sus consecuencias pueden aclarar su influencia en la obesidad en edad escolar y contribuir a direccionar adecuadamente las recomendaciones a la población para mejorar sus hábitos de vida.

Cost has been reported as the main barrier to healthy eating in vulnerable groups. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a nutrition education intervention on adherence to Mediterranean Diet and health when providing food vouchers. This pilot study has a randomized control trial design. We included 66 vulnerable users from the Red Cross of Zaragoza (Spain). Intervention and control group individuals received 120 euros/month of food vouchers over 3 months to be spent in supermarkets (60 euros/month if under 12 y) plus a 10-week nutrition education program for the intervention group. Family food purchases were assessed using electronically recorded supermarket-obtained transactions. During and at the end of the intervention the percentage of healthy food was higher in the intervention than in the control group. Once the nutrition education was over, differences between groups dissipated. In the intervention group, health parameters improved, particularly weight-status, lipids, and liver enzymes. Control participants gained weight, although lipid and liver enzymes improved. Blood pressure and HbA1c did not improve in either the intervention or the control group. In conclusion, providing unrestricted food vouchers to vulnerable groups to increase healthy food consumption appears to be insufficient and should be accompanied by medium-long term nutrition education.

Adolescence is recognized as a time of rapid physiological and behavioral change. In this transition, eating behavior is still being formed and remains an integral part of a person’s lifestyle throughout his or her life. This study aims to assess eating behavior and associations with food intake in European adolescents. We included 2194 adolescents (45.9% boys), aged 12.5 to 17.5 years, from the cross-sectional HELENA study, with two completed 24 h recalls and complete questionnaire data on their eating behavior (Eating Behavior and Weight Problems Inventory for Children- EWI-C). Three subscales of the EWI were evaluated; they measured Strength and motivation to eat (EWI 1), Importance and impact of eating (EWI 2), and Eating as a means of coping with emotional stress (EWI 3). Since these subscales were specially focused on eating behavior, participants were classified as either Low (≤P75) or High (>P75) on each of the subscales. Our results showed a higher consumption of different types of food, in the EWI 1 scales, linked to the hunger and interest in eating, and we observed a relationship with the consumption of energy-dense products. This result was repeated in EWI 3, the subscale linked to emotional eating, where we also found higher consumption of energy-dense products. This study suggests that special features of eating behavior are associated with food intake in adolescents.

Childhood obesity is one of the main public health concerns in Europe. The aim was to identify possible risk factors associated with overweight/obesity in Spanish preschool and school-age children. The sample (1075 (50.7% girls) children aged 3 to 12) is part of the project ‘Alimentando el Cambio’ whose objective is to promote healthy lifestyles in schools. Child height and weight were measured, and parents filled out questionnaires related to the children’s lifestyle. There was a positive and significant association between sweetened beverage consumption and body mass index (BMI) z-score in both sexes and age groups. There was a negative and significant association between BMI z-score and dairy products in girls of both age groups. There was also a protective effect of regular nut consumption on overweight/obesity in girls 6–12 y. Night-time sleep during weekdays showed a negative association with BMI z-score for older boys and girls. A positive and significant association was found between total screen time and BMI z-score during weekdays. Regarding emotional well-being and self-esteem, having girls 6–12 y laughing and feeling happy and good about themselves in the last week was a protective factor against overweight/obesity. Childhood obesity prevention efforts may benefit from targeting these key risk factors.

Disturbances in eating behaviors have been widely related to obesity. However, little is known about the role of obesity-related biomarkers in shaping habitual patterns of eating behaviors (i.e., eating styles) in childhood. The objective of the present study was to explore the relationships between several biomarkers crucially involved in obesity (ghrelin, insulin resistance, and leptin/adiponectin ratio) and eating styles in children and adolescents with obesity. Seventy participants aged between 8 and 16 (56.2% men) fulfilled the Spanish version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Children to measure external, emotional, and restrained eating styles. In addition, concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, insulin, and glucose were obtained through a blood test. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for age and sex were computed for each eating style. Results indicated that individuals with higher ghrelin concentration levels showed lower scores in restrained eating (β = −0.61, p < 0.001). The total model explained 32% of the variance of the restrained pattern. No other relationships between obesity-related biomarkers and eating behaviors were found. This study highlights that one of the obesity-risk factors, namely lower plasma ghrelin levels, is substantially involved in a well-known maladaptive eating style, restraint eating, in childhood obesity.

Purpose: Eating behaviours influence food intake and long-term eating habits. This study aimed to assess the association between specific eating behaviour traits and the consumption of food and beverage in children aged 3 to 6 years, based on data from the CORAL study. Methods: Data were obtained from the Spanish CORAL study, a 10-year longitudinal cohort including 1407 participants (699 boys, 708 girls; 4.8 ± 1.0 years). Eating behaviours were assessed using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) and dietary intake was measured using a validated COME-Kids Food and Beverage Frequency Questionnaire. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to identify dietary patterns. Associations were analysed with multivariable linear regression adjusted for covariates. Results: In both sexes, higher Enjoyment of Food scores were associated with greater consumption of fish, fruits, vegetables, pulses, whole grains, and lower consumption of sweets. In contrast, higher Food Fussiness scores were associated with lower consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, and pulses, and higher intake of sweets. PCA revealed five dietary patterns per sex, explaining 36.62% of the variance in boys and 36.07% in girls. Enjoyment of Food and Food Fussiness were the traits most strongly associated with distinct dietary patterns ( p < 0.001). Conclusion: Eating behaviour traits are clearly associated with diet quality in early childhood. Enjoyment of Food supports healthier eating, while Food Fussiness may compromise it. These findings may inform early prevention strategies to encourage healthy eating habits and reduce the risk of childhood overweight and obesity.