How children's genes and parents' feeding practices affect appetite and weight gain in early childhood
Characterizing the relationships of genetic risk and parental coercive feeding practices with appetitive traits and adiposity gain across early life.
This project looks at how a child's genetic risk and parents' controlling feeding habits relate to appetite behaviors and weight change in preschool-aged children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dartmouth College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hanover, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11293400 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Your child would be followed across the preschool years to see how their eating behaviors, what they eat, and their growth change over time. Researchers will collect genetic information (for example, from a saliva sample), ask parents about feeding practices and emotions around food, and measure children's height and weight repeatedly. The team will compare children with different genetic risk levels to see whether parental feeding makes a bigger difference for some kids than others. The goal is to untangle how genes and parenting together influence appetite and weight gain in young children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are children roughly 2–5 years old with caregivers willing to provide genetic samples, complete questionnaires about feeding and diet, and attend follow-up visits.
Not a fit: Children outside the preschool age range or families unwilling to provide samples or feeding/diet information are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help families tailor feeding approaches to reduce early childhood weight gain based on a child's appetite and genetic risk.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked appetitive traits and certain parental feeding practices to higher BMI in children, but combining genetic risk with longitudinal feeding data in preschoolers is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Hanover, United States
- Dartmouth College — Hanover, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Emond, Jennifer a. — Dartmouth College
- Study coordinator: Emond, Jennifer a.
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 below.