Childhood obesity remains a significant public health crisis. Most children with obesity are likely to remain obese
as they mature and are at risk to experience significantly more lifelong physical and mental health issues,
creating significant economic and public health consequences. Thus, identification of the most salient early
predictors of obesity is essential. Despite growing evidence that a) self-regulatory skills in food and non-food
contexts and appetitive traits significantly impact childhood obesity risk, and b) obesity risk is determined by the
interplay between biological, psychological, and home environment factors, this work has occurred largely in
isolation within disciplines, greatly hindering the interpretability and application of findings. This proposal
describes a longitudinal, interdisciplinary study to leverage our existing sample of 300 mother-child dyads who
are diverse with respect to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and obesity risk and have been followed from
the prenatal period until children were 2 years old (R01HD093662). We will re-assess these children at ages 3
and 5 and recruit an additional 50 3-year-olds into this study to facilitate future longer-term follow-up into middle
childhood and adolescence. We propose a biopsychosocial model of the early development of obesity risk
that will clarify (a) the measurement structure of general self-regulation, appetite self-regulation, and food cue
reactivity, and the extent to which each has unique versus overlapping antecedents and consequences (Aim 1);
and (b) the extent to which general self-regulation and/or appetite self-regulation buffer children from the adverse
effects of specific early biological (e.g., hormones related to energy metabolism), psychological/behavioral (e.g.,
child food cue reactivity, negative emotionality), and social/environmental (e.g., obesogenic home environment,
negative parenting) risks on elevated obesity risk at age 5 (Aim 2). This innovative study has critical implications
for future targeted preventive interventions, since it will identify which target mechanisms (within the home,
individual, or both) in infancy and preschool may be most influential in preventing early obesity risk before it
becomes more difficult to reverse. By combining the theoretical and methodologic approaches of developmental
and nutritional sciences, this project will help enhance rigor in the methods used to assess distinct aspects of
food and non-food reactivity and regulation, which will be applicable to both basic and applied research.
Additionally, the proposed study will begin to fill a critical knowledge gap regarding the role of the hormonal milieu
in relation to obesity across childhood. Our multidisciplinary team has expertise in observational, physiological,
and biological assessments, and will leverage our solid existing collaborations to smoothly implement the
proposed study with rigor and efficiency.
