{"id":10096,"date":"2025-03-18T12:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T04:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=10096"},"modified":"2025-03-18T12:04:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T04:04:30","slug":"maternal-depression-can-lead-to-childrens-emotional-overeating-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/maternal-depression-can-lead-to-childrens-emotional-overeating-study-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Maternal depression can lead to children\u2019s emotional overeating, study shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Up to 25% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, which can significantly impact their parenting behavior and the wellbeing of their children. A\u00a0<\/strong>new study<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0<\/strong>University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0looks at long-term effects of early maternal depression on children, underscoring the need to provide adequate support for mothers who might be struggling.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to explore how mother\u2019s early postpartum depression might influence children’s executive function and emotional overeating, focusing on the psychological mechanisms driving the effects,\u201d said lead author\u00a0Samantha Iwinski, postdoctoral research associate in the\u00a0Department of Human Development and Family Studies\u00a0at Illinois.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmotional overeating is about using food to cope with stress or emotions rather than using it to satisfy hunger. Instead of thinking about food as a source of nourishment or enjoyment, it becomes a coping strategy for negative emotions. If children aren\u2019t able to talk about their emotions or show how they really feel, they may react to a stressful situation by grabbing something to eat,\u201d Iwinski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study included families participating in the Midwest STRONG Kids2<\/a> project, which investigates how individual biology interacts with the family environment to promote healthy eating habits in young children. Mothers filled out questionnaires to assess postpartum depression at six weeks, children\u2019s emotional functioning at 24 months, and children\u2019s eating behavior at 48 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers analyzed the data using the\u00a0biopsychosocial pathways model, which outlines how interactions between biological, psychological, and social factors affect health outcomes, including appetite self-regulation. They focused on postpartum depression as a critical social factor predicting children\u2019s emotional overeating, mediated through emotional and cognitive psychological processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our sample, almost 12% of mothers met the criteria for postpartum depression, and we found that maternal postpartum depression at six weeks negatively influenced children’s executive function with inhibition and emotional control at 24 months and overeating at 48 months,\u201d Iwinski said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInhibition involves being able to control one\u2019s attention, behaviors, and thoughts. This can include doing what may be appropriate in a given situation, which may involve overriding internal predispositions For example, if a child is doing their homework and the TV is playing, they can direct their attention and focus on their homework rather than the TV. Emotional control is about being able to regulate oneself when certain situations are happening; for example, crying might help in response to distress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the indirect effects on eating behavior through executive functioning, there was also a direct correlation between maternal depression and children\u2019s overeating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mothers who suffer from postpartum depression may be less responsive to their children\u2019s cognitive and emotional needs, which can affect healthy development and capacity for self-regulation. Women with postpartum depression symptoms may also engage in appetite fluctuation, modeling this behavior for their children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers say their findings underscore the need for early intervention and support for women who suffer from depression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy supporting the mother\u2019s mental health, we’re really supporting the families, because of the long-term effects on children. It’s important to have early identification of what might be happening in order to help families teach their children healthy strategies for coping with emotions, such as play, mindfulness, or even just talking about our feelings,\u201d Iwinski stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeachers and other supportive adults can also participate in supporting children and families. For example, they can be looking at eating patterns, noticing how children might be reacting in certain situations, and if food might be a coping mechanism for them. They can then use that information to talk about other ways to deal with emotions and bring the family more into the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0paper<\/a>, \u201cMaternal postpartum depression and children’s emotional overeating: The mediating role of executive function,\u201d is published in\u00a0Eating Behaviors<\/em>. Authors include Samantha Iwinski, Sehyun Ju, Qiujie Gong, and Kelly Bost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn our sample, almost 12% of mothers met the criteria for postpartum depression, and we found that maternal postpartum depression at six weeks negatively influenced children’s executive function with inhibition and emotional control at 24 months and overeating at 48 months.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1024,2138,1678,1661],"class_list":["post-10096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","tag-expectant-mother","tag-parental-advice","tag-parental-care","tag-parenthood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10097,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10096\/revisions\/10097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}