Development of an Eating Behavior Risk Score

This is a one-year observational study designed to better understand how certain eating behaviors in children relate to brain function and weight gain over time. These behaviors will be assessed using a combination of laboratory meal tasks, caregiver questionnaires, and behavioral coding. Children will be invited to six research visits-four at the beginning of the study and two 12 months later-during which they will participate in structured meals where portion sizes are adjusted, complete computer-based and paper assessments, and undergo brain imaging while viewing pictures of food. Body composition will be measured at both timepoints using a DXA scan. In addition, researchers will collect information on children's sleep, physical activity, executive function, dietary intake, and interoceptive awareness. Parents will be asked to complete surveys about their family's socioeconomic background, food security, feeding practices, and their child's behavior, temperament, and development. One of the study's goals is to examine how brain regions involved in appetite regulation and self-control respond to food cues in children with different PACE scores. Another goal is to determine whether children with higher PACE scores tend to have more body fat and whether those scores predict changes in body fat over one year. The study will also explore whether children from families with higher or lower socioeconomic status show different patterns of risk. Finally, researchers will use a machine learning approach to identify children who seem resilient to weight gain, despite having high-risk eating patterns, and to better understand what family or individual characteristics might explain that resilience.