Search Results (3)

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic stressors have profoundly reshaped consumer eating behaviors, presenting an urgent and underexplored challenge for the academic community. This interdisciplinary review critically examines how these disruptions have influenced both food approach and food avoidance patterns, offering a structured analysis of eight key behavioral parameters: Hunger (H), Food Responsiveness (FR), Emotional Overeating (EOE), Enjoyment of Food (EF), Satiety Responsiveness (SR), Emotional Under Eating (EUE), Food Fussiness (FF), and Slowness in Eating (SE). Drawing on recent literature, we highlight significant shifts in these traits—such as heightened hedonic hunger, age-related changes in food preferences, and gender-specific emotional-satiety dynamics—underscoring the complex interplay between emotional states, physiological cues, and behavioral tendencies. Grounded in the systematic examination of peer-reviewed studies in the post-COVID period, this review offers a robust and comprehensive synthesis of current evidence. The novelty of this work lies in its integration of findings into targeted proposition statements for each parameter, visually supported by original flow charts. These culminate in the development of a “Consumers’ Eating Behavior Index”—a conceptual tool designed to guide researchers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers in understanding and responding to post-pandemic dietary transformations. By emphasizing the emotional and psychological dimensions of eating, this index offers a timely framework for designing tailored public health interventions that promote sustainable nutritional habits. This study calls for renewed academic attention to the behavioral consequences of global crises, positioning eating behavior research as a critical frontier in post-COVID recovery and resilience. Full article

Early nutrition plays a crucial role not only in providing essential nutrients for proper child development, but may also be an important step in creating desirable eating behaviors, which can be transmitted into adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess possible links between early feeding factors, such as breastfeeding, complementary feeding (timing and method) as well as types of complementary foods and mealtime environment during the first three months of complementary feeding and eating behaviors in children aged 1–3 years old. This cross-sectional, online survey involved 467 mothers of toddlers aged 1–3 years old from the whole of Poland. The questionnaire consisted of questions about early feeding and the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). The adjusted linear regression model revealed that longer duration of any breastfeeding was negatively related to enjoyment of food (EF), desire to drink (DD) and positively related to satiety responsiveness (SR) and slowness in eating (SE) subscales. Moreover, offering homemade complementary foods more often than commercial may be related to higher SR. Eating meals during distraction seems to be negatively associated with EF, and positively with DD and SE subscales. Our study highlights possible links between early feeding factors and toddlers’ eating behaviors, so further investigation, also including dietary factors, is needed. Full article

The objective of this study was to validate and measure the internal reliability of the Baby and Child Eating Behavior Questionnaires for Toddlers (BEBQ-Mex and CEBQ-T-Mex), that evaluate appetitive trait (ATs). Mothers recruited from a public hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico, completed the BEBQ-Mex or CEBQ-T-Mex along with information on sociodemographic characteristics. Internal reliability of the BEBQ-Mex was sufficient for Food Responsiveness (FR) (Cronbach α = 0.82), while Enjoyment of Food (EF) and Satiety Responsiveness (SR) showed poor reliability (α = 0.56) and Slowness in Eating (SE) had unacceptable reliability (a = 0.36). All reliability values for the CEBQ-T-Mex were acceptable (>0.70), except for SE (α = 0.64). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed an adequate model fit for the BEBQ-Mex, except the SE subscale. CFA for the CEBQ-T-Mex confirmed the six-factor structure. Mothers of a low sociodemographic background were unable to recognize their infants’ ATs; the BEBQ-Mex partly met the criteria for validity and reliability. Mothers from similar sociodemographic characteristics were more able to recognize the ATs of their toddlers than their infants; the CEBQ-T-Mex was found to be a valid and reliable tool. Findings support the need to help mothers’ ability to recognize their infants’ ATs, which have been previously associated with weight and growth. Full article