Publication
Title
Intergenerational effects of lay beliefs : how parents' unhealthy tasty intuition influences their children’s food consumption and Body Mass Index
Author
Abstract
Childhood obesity is a major problem worldwide and a key contributor to adult obesity. This research explores caregivers’ lay beliefs and food parenting practices, and their long-term, intergenerational effects on their children’s food consumption and physiology. First, a cross-cultural survey reveals the link between parents’ belief that tasty food is unhealthy and the use of extrinsic rewards to encourage their children to eat healthily, with adverse downstream consequences for the children’s body mass indices. Next, two studies demonstrate the mechanism by which this strategy backfires, as providing extrinsic rewards ironically increases children’s unhealthy food consumption, which in turn leads to an increase in their body mass indices. The final two studies demonstrate potential solutions for public policy and health practitioners, either by manipulating “unhealthy = tasty” beliefs directly or by breaking the association between these food beliefs and the use of extrinsic rewards through an intervention.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The journal of consumer research. - Chicago, Ill., 1974, currens
Publication
Chicago, Ill. : 2023
ISSN
0093-5301 [paper]
1537-5277 [online]
DOI
10.1093/JCR/UCAD048
Volume/pages
(2023) , p. 1-70
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
The author-created version that incorporates referee comments and is the accepted for publication version Available from 18.07.2024
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Record
Identifier
Creation 19.10.2023
Last edited 20.10.2023
To cite this reference