Early childhood feeding disorders: Implications on adolescents' self-perception, BMI, and parental perception

Porat Yakov, Gal Meiri, Baruch Yerushalmi, Naama Atzaba-Poria

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigated the self-perception of physical appearance among adolescents who were diagnosed with feeding disorder (FD) in toddlerhood, while considering both the physical (body mass index [BMI] scores) and subjective (parental perceptions) aspects of the children's weight. Families who participated in a study on toddlers diagnosed with FD (N = 52; 30 FD group) participated in a follow-up study during adolescence (M age = 13 years, SD = 1.9; girls = 31). Parents reported their perceptions of their children's weight, adolescents reported their perceptions of their physical appearance, and BMI scores were calculated. The FD group had lower BMI scores compared to the healthy control group (Cohen's d = 0.71). In addition, among the FD group, adolescent self-perception of physical appearance was related to parental perceptions of adolescent weight, rather than adolescent BMI score. These findings show that FD during toddlerhood has long-term implications on both a child's weight and a child's self-perception of physical appearance.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number101557
JournalJournal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Volume87
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2023

Keywords

  • Child weight
  • Feeding disorders
  • Parental perception of child weight
  • Self-perception of physical appearance

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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