Does eating in the absence of hunger extend to healthy snacks in children?

Abstract

Objectives: To assess if eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) extends to healthier snacks and examine the relationship between the home food environment and EAH in children with normal weight (NW) or overweight/obesity (OB) who are at low risk (LR) or high risk (HR) for obesity based on maternal obesity. Methods: EAH was assessed after lunch and dinner when children received either low energy dense fruit snacks or high energy dense sweet/savoury snacks. The availability of obesogenic foods in the home was assessed by the Home Food Inventory. Results: Data showed significant main effects of risk group (P=.0003) and snack type (P