Family mealtimes and eating psychopathology : the role of anxiety and depression among adolescent girls and boys

Characteristics of family mealtimes are associated with disordered eating behaviours. However, little is known about the relationships between characteristics of family mealtimes and disordered eating attitudes, or how symptoms of anxiety or depression may contribute to these relationships. This study therefore aimed to examine differences between adolescent girls and boys in the relationship between family mealtime characteristics and eating psychopathology, and to explore the influence of anxiety and depression on this relationship. Adolescents (N=535; 286 girls and 249 boys) aged 14-18 years completed self-report measures of family mealtime characteristics, eating psychopathology, anxiety and depression. Reports of more frequent family mealtimes, a more positive mealtime atmosphere and a high level of priority placed on mealtimes were all associated with significantly lower levels of eating-disordered attitudes among girls only. For boys, all four mealtime measures (higher mealtime frequency, more positive mealtime atmosphere, greater priority of mealtimes and higher levels of mealtime structure) were associated with lower levels of depression. Among girls, several of the family mealtime and eating psychopathology relationships were partially or fully mediated by either anxiety or depression. While these findings require longitudinal replication, family mealtimes are likely to be important in promoting psychological well-being among both girls and boys. Families should be encouraged to think beyond the frequency of mealtimes and to foster a positive mealtime environment which may help to promote adolescent psychological well being, and might even protect young females against the development of eating psychopathology

Teaching our children when to eat:how parental feeding practices inform the development of emotional eating-a longitudinal experimental design

Background: Emotional eating in children has been related to the consumption of energy-dense foods and obesity, but the development of emotional eating in young children is poorly understood. Objectives: We evaluated whether emotional eating can be induced in 5-7-y-old children in the laboratory and assessed whether parental use of overly controlling feeding practices at 3-5 y of age predicts a greater subsequent tendency for children to eat under conditions of mild stress at ages 5-7 y. Design: Forty-one parent-child dyads were recruited to participate in this longitudinal study, which involved parents and children being observed consuming a standard lunch, completing questionnaire measures of parental feeding practices, participating in a research procedure to induce child emotion (or a control procedure), and observing children's consumption of snack foods. Results: Children at ages 5-7 y who were exposed to a mild emotional stressor consumed significantly more calories from snack foods in the absence of hunger than did children in a control group. Parents who reported the use of more food as a reward and restriction of food for health reasons with their children at ages 3-5 y were more likely to have children who ate more under conditions of negative emotion at ages 5-7 y. Conclusions: Parents who overly control children's food intake may unintentionally teach children to rely on palatable foods to cope with negative emotions. Additional research is needed to evaluate the implications of these findings for children's food intake and weight outside of the laboratory setting. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01122290

Eating disorder examination questionnaire : factor structure for adolescent girls and boys

Objective: To examine the factor structure of the EDE-Q among a sample of adolescents. Method: A community-based sample of 917 adolescents (522 girls and 395 boys) aged 14-18 years completed the EDE-Q version 6.0 as part of a larger study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two subsamples to enable separate analyses. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis on the original four factor model of the EDE-Q produced an inadmissible model with a poor fit. Exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring produced an alternative three factor model of the EDE-Q among adolescents. The Shape and Weight Concerns, Restriction and Preoccupation and Eating Concern subscales accounted for 65% of the total variance. Subscale and global scores were significantly higher for girls than for boys. A high proportion of both girls (53.6%) and boys (30.5%) reported participating in at least one key eating disordered behaviour during the previous 28 days. Discussion: The results of this study present three new subscales (Shape and Weight Concerns, Restriction and Preoccupation and Eating Concern) which are suggested for use in future research which uses the EDE-Q with community samples of adolescents

Gli2 and Gli3 Localize to Cilia and Require the Intraflagellar Transport Protein Polaris for Processing and Function

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) proteins are essential for cilia assembly and have recently been associated with a number of developmental processes, such as left–right axis specification and limb and neural tube patterning. Genetic studies indicate that IFT proteins are required for Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling downstream of the Smoothened and Patched membrane proteins but upstream of the Glioma (Gli) transcription factors. However, the role that IFT proteins play in transduction of Shh signaling and the importance of cilia in this process remain unknown. Here we provide insights into the mechanism by which defects in an IFT protein, Tg737/Polaris, affect Shh signaling in the murine limb bud. Our data show that loss of Tg737 results in altered Gli3 processing that abrogates Gli3-mediated repression of Gli1 transcriptional activity. In contrast to the conclusions drawn from genetic analysis, the activity of Gli1 and truncated forms of Gli3 (Gli3R) are unaffected in Tg737 mutants at the molecular level, indicating that Tg737/Polaris is differentially involved in specific activities of the Gli proteins. Most important, a negative regulator of Shh signaling, Suppressor of fused, and the three full-length Gli transcription factors localize to the distal tip of cilia in addition to the nucleus. Thus, our data support a model where cilia have a direct role in Gli processing and Shh signal transduction

Authors’ Reply to Richardson and Chen: Comment on “Sport and transgender people: a systematic review of the literature relating to sport participation and competitive sport policies”

Letter to the editor. This letter refers to the article available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0621-y

Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in trans people: a systematic review of the literature

Body dissatisfaction plays a prominent role in gender dysphoria. Body dissatisfaction, in some individuals, appears to manifest disordered eating in order to supress bodily features of natal gender and accentuate features of gender identity. To date, there has been no systematic review of the literature pertaining to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in trans individuals. Such a review may highlight important implications for clinicians working with trans people. Therefore, the aim was to critically and systematically review the available literature examining body dissatisfaction or disordered eating in a trans population, and also the literature pertaining to how body dissatisfaction and disordered eating are related in trans people. This review found three studies that explored disordered eating in trans people, five studies that explored body image and disordered eating in trans people, and 18 studies that explored body image in trans people. The findings from this review suggest that body dissatisfaction is core to the distress trans people experience and that this dissatisfaction may also put some individuals at risk of developing disordered eating. Additionally, the findings appear to suggest that gender dysphoria treatment is successful at increasing body satisfaction and improving body image. The clinical implications are discussed

Barriers and facilitators of physical activity and sport participation among young transgender adults who are medically transitioning

Background: Transgender people (those who feel incongruence between the gender they were assigned at birth and their gender identity) engage in lower levels of physical activity compared to cisgender people (non-transgender). Several factors have been shown to affect physical activity engagement in the cisgender population however; the physical activity experiences of young transgender adults have not been explored. It was therefore the aim of the current study to understand what factors are associated with physical activity and sport engagement in young transgender adults who are medically transitioning. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 young transgender adults (18-36 years) who had initiated their medical transition at a transgender health service in the United Kingdom. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Two main themes were identified: (1) barriers and (2) facilitators to physical activity and sport. Overall, the young transgender adults were insufficiently active due to inadequate changing facilities, body dissatisfaction, fears surrounding ‘passing’ and not being accepted by others. At the same time, participants were motivated to engage in physical activity to increase their body satisfaction and gender congruence. However, participants felt there were a lack of safe and comfortable spaces to engage in physical activity and sport. Conclusion: Young transgender adults who are medically transitioning experience several barriers to physical activity and sport, despite being motivated to be physically active. Initiatives to facilitate young transgender adults to be able to put their motivations into practice (i.e. to be more physically active) are needed

Family mealtime emotions and food parenting practices among mothers of young children : development of the Mealtime Emotions Measure for Parents (MEM‐P)

Family mealtimes can be important for supporting children's healthy development, yet the emotional context of mealtimes can vary considerably, likely impacting their overall success and enjoyment. Yet, despite having an important role, little is known about how parents emotionally experience mealtimes with their family. The first aim of the current study was to assess the factor structure of a novel self‐report measure to assess parents’ emotional responses experienced during family mealtimes (Mealtime Emotions Measure for Parents; MEM‐P). The second aim was to examine relationships between maternal mealtime emotions and their food parenting practices. Mothers of children aged between 1.5 and 6 years participated in this study. Mothers were invited to complete an online questionnaire measuring family mealtime emotions, anxiety, depression and food parenting practices. Exploratory factor analysis produced a three‐factor solution comprising both positive and negative emotion subscales: MEM‐P Efficacy; MEM‐P Anxiety; MEM‐P Stress and Anger. Mothers' positive mealtime emotions (mealtime efficacy) were related to greater use of practices promoting autonomy, providing a healthy home food environment, and modelling healthy eating. Higher anxiety about mealtimes was related to greater reports of child control over eating, and mealtime stress and anger was associated with greater use of food to regulate emotions. These findings highlight novel relationships between how mothers emotionally experience family mealtimes and the food parenting practices they use with their children. It is important to develop resources to help promote positive maternal experiences of family mealtimes and food‐based interactions