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The role of Effortful Control and the Dual Pathway Model in Childhood Obesity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

L. Vervoort  and
T. Naets
L. Vervoort*
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Clinical Developmental Psychology, Ghent, Belgium Radboud University, Development Psychology, Nijmegen, Netherlands Radboud University, Behavioral Science Institute, Nijmegen, Netherlands
T. Naets
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Clinical Developmental Psychology, Ghent, Belgium Odisee University College, Department Health Care (dietetics),, Ghent, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Apart from other well-known psychological determinants of obesity, deficits in neuropsychological processes related to effortful control can be relevant predictors for weight problems and difficulties in weight loss. Deficits in top-down inhibition as well as in other processes such as strong bottom-up reactivity, like external eating, hinder resisting food temptations in an obesogenic environment, thus determining the risk for the development of overweight and obesity. Furthermore, these deficits are associated with less positive outcomes in weight loss interventions for subgroups of children and adolescents with severe obesity. Targeting those effortful control mechanisms underlying childhood obesity via cognitive behavioral techniques can facilitate behavioural change necessary to induce sustainable weight loss and weight control. In this presentation, I will present data on effortful control collected in a large sample of youngsters (n=572 participants, 51% boys, aged 7–19) with moderate to severe obesity. Results suggest that top-down inhibition and bottom-up external eating play a complex role in weight problems in certain subgroups of youngsters with obesity, stressing the importance of identifying subgroups for tailoring interventions. I will demonstrate a few science-based intervention techniques that have the potential to ameliorate effortful control capacities, and thus optimize treatment outcomes for those youngsters low in effortful control.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

dual pathway of obesitydemonstration of intervention techniquesEffortful Control: top down regulation and bottom up reactivitychildren and adolescents
Type
Effortful Control/Cognitive Control: A Transdiagnostic Factor in Psychopathology
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S51
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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