When the Label Lies: The Impact of Childhood Socioeconomic Environment on Restrictive Eating and Energy Consumption in Adulthood

Abstract

Past research has established a link between low socioeconomic status, childhood unpredictability, and eating in the absence of hunger. The current research explores whether external or internal cues guide food intake and whether or not this is determined by childhood socioeconomic status. The goals were:a) to determine which plays a more important role in one's food regulation: their beliefs about the number of calories they are consuming or the actual number of calories they are consuming; and b) examine whether this is moderated by one's childhood socioeconomic status (CSES). Results demonstrated that for those who grew up in higher income households, food intake is influenced primarily by biological energy need. For those who grew up in lower income households, food intake appears to be relatively unrelated to biological energy need.