Publication:

Children’s eating behaviour in relation to body mass index among 2–5 year-old children in a tertiary care centre: a cross-sectional study

Background Childhood obesity is an emerging global health concern and is associated with several metabolic, cardiovascular and psychosocial complications. Eating behaviours established during preschool years are often stable and may influence future body weight. The children’s eating behaviour questionnaire (CEBQ) is a validated tool to assess appetite-related behaviours in children. Objective was to assess the relationship between children’s eating behaviours and body mass index (BMI) among children aged 2–5 years attending a tertiary care centre.

Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 162 children aged 2–5 years in the Department of Pediatrics of a tertiary care centre. Data were collected using a structured proforma and the CEBQ completed by parents/caregivers. Anthropometric measurements were recorded and BMI SD scores were calculated using WHO growth standards. The CEBQ assessed eight subscales categorized into food-approach behaviours (food responsiveness (FR), enjoyment of food (EF), emotional overeating (EOE), desire to drink (DD)) and food-avoidant behaviours (satiety responsiveness (SR), slowness in eating (SE), emotional undereating (EUE), food fussiness (FF)). Spearman correlation was used to evaluate associations between BMI SD score and CEBQ subscales.

Results The mean age of participants was 2.09±0.82 years; 53.7% were females. Based on BMI SD scores, 46.9% had normal BMI, 36.4% were overweight/obese and 16.7% were underweight. BMI SD score showed strong positive correlations with EF (ρ=0.786), EOE (ρ=0.717), FR (ρ=0.794) and DD (ρ=0.756) (all p<0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed with SR (ρ=−0.412), SE (ρ=−0.459), EUE (ρ=−0.373) and FF (ρ=−0.375) (all p<0.001).

Conclusions Preschool children with higher BMI demonstrated stronger food-approach behaviours and weaker food-avoidant behaviours. Early identification of maladaptive eating patterns and family-centred behavioural interventions may help prevent childhood obesity and undernutrition.