Table 3.
| Correlate | Association | Evidence1 |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Level Characteristics of the Child | ||
| Age | EAH is observable among children as young as 3 and likely increases with age at least until age 13. | ++ |
| Understanding associations between EAH with respect to age-adjusted, daily caloric needs remains understudied. | − | |
| Gender | EAH is observable among boys and girls. | ++ |
| Gender modifies the associations of many determinants of EAH. | ++ ++ |
|
| Race | EAH is observable among Non-Hispanic White, Non- Hispanic Black, and Hispanic children. | ++ |
| Studies assessing how culture may moderate EAH among children are absent. | − | |
| Weight status | Children who are overweight engage in more EAH than their normal-weight counterparts. | ++ |
| Studies addressing causality are absent. | − | |
| Eating style | Children who eat in response to emotional and external cues engage in greater levels of EAH. | + |
| Affect | Children in negative mood states engage in more EAH. | + |
| Genetics | EAH is heritable. | ++ |
| Activity levels | Studies comparing a child’s physical activity levels and sedentary behaviors to EAH are absent. | − |
| Familiar Level Characteristics of the Child | ||
| Parental demographics | Studies assessing the impact of parental race and ethnicity, education, employment, household income, and even single vs. dual-parent households on EAH among children are absent. | − |
| Parental gender | Parental gender moderates association between parental feedings styles and EAH among children. | + |
| Studies addressing parental gender with respect to other parental determinants of EAH are absent. | − | |
| Parents’ adiposity | Children of overweight parents engage in more EAH than children of normal-weight parents. | + |
| Parents’ disinhibited eating style | Maternal dietary disinhibition is positively association with daughter’s EAH. | ++ |
| Parents’ feeding restriction | Maternal restrictiveness of palatable foods is positively associated with daughters’ EAH. | + |
| Parents’ use of food to regulate children’s negative emotions | Children of parents who use food to regulate children’s negative emotions engage in more EAH. | − |
| Availability of highly palatable foods in the home | Studies assessing the associations between the presence of and accessibility to highly palatable foods in the home on EAH are absent. | − |
| Societal Level Characteristics of the Child | ||
| Availability of highly palatable foods in the community and at school/Exposure to food and beverage promotions | Studies assessing the impact of external cues related to consuming highly palatable foods are absent. | − |
1
Proposed correlates of EAH selected from factors reported as significantly associated with EAH among children from at least one study included in this review, and also includes other understudied factors that may relate to EAH among children.
2
Strength of evidence supporting hypothesized associations defined as significant findings reported in more than one independent study sample (++), significant findings only among one study sample (+) or mixed findings reported among more than one independent study sample (+), and characteristics that are largely understudied (−).