Children's self-control around food and everyday behavior and how it links to obesity risk
Official title: Food and Non-Food Self-Regulation in Children's Obesity Risk: A Biopsychosocial Perspective
Funded at University of North Carolina Greensboro · NIH-11261522 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how young children's ability to control their eating and behavior, along with family and biological factors, relates to future obesity risk for kids followed from infancy through age 5 and new 3-year-olds.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of North Carolina Greensboro NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Greensboro, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $579,603 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD110470-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11261522 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are children from the existing mother-child cohort followed since pregnancy (now ages 3 and 5) and newly recruited 3-year-olds, along with their caregivers, especially from diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
✕Less likely to help
Adults without young children, children outside the enrolled age range, or families unwilling to attend follow-up visits and behavioral testing are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If your child joins, researchers will follow children already in a long-term group and add a few more 3-year-olds to watch how they grow. They will bring children and caregivers in at ages 3 and 5 to measure things like how children manage impulses, respond to food cues, and traits like appetite, plus family and biological factors. The team combines observations, parent reports, and biological or behavioral measures to see which early patterns most strongly predict weight outcomes. The goal is to build a clearer picture of which early behaviors and home influences could be targeted to prevent obesity later on.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could point to early behaviors and family factors to target with programs that help reduce children's long-term obesity risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked self-control and appetitive traits to childhood weight, but combining biological, psychological, and home-environment measures in a long-term, diverse cohort is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Greensboro, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Leerkes, Esther M — University of North Carolina Greensboro
- Study coordinator: Leerkes, Esther M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.