The Development of Eating Behavior in Infancy: Associations With Behavior, Diet, and Growth at School Age

This study will examine children's eating behavior. The study will enroll approximately 400 participants (200 child/parent pairs).

At certain time points, participants will engage in activities involving the presentation of food and the observation of behavioral responses to these presentations, as well as the completion of questionnaires

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Eating Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Food protocols

Detailed Description

This research study is a complex, long term investigation of the relationships between children's eating behaviors, and parent-child interaction during eating and their associations with BMI and dietary intake. It builds on earlier observational research which, like this research, had small experimental components used to classify children into different phenotypic groups based on different responses to the experimental conditions. The small activities and experiments of this follow up study constitute a trial as defined by NIH, registered here. The exploratory outcomes measured from these activities are not listed in this registration for reasons of scientific integrity. To be clear, the bigger structure of this research is essentially an observational follow up study with the same children who were previously studied as infants. The goal of the project is to identify potential future intervention targets.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • University of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 5 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria for Children (ages 5-7.99) and their parents (18 and older):

• Prior participation in "The Development of Eating Behavior in Infancy" project
• Family lives within reasonable driving distance of the University of Michigan

Exclusion Criteria:

• Significant developmental delays that would impede child's ability to participate
• Foster child
• Child has developed significant health problems that affect appetite, eating, or growth.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Eating behavior activities	Behavioral: Food protocols; Participants will engage in several activities (i.e. offering a variety of foods and age appropriate games, etc.) regarding eating behaviors. Participants will be asked to videotape interactions using a secure system. An alternative option may be provided if this videotaping is not acceptable.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Body Mass Index z - score (BMIz)	Children will be weighed and measured using a portable stadiometer. BMI will be calculated and child BMI z-score derived using age- and sex-specific norms from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts.	1- 2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Dietary Intake	Mean dietary intake of macro- and micro-nutrients using an automated self-administered 24-hour dietary assessment tool across two recall days.	1- 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Julie Lumeng, MD, University of Michigan

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Ventura AK, Ross KJ, Miller AL, DeJesus JM, Tan CC, Lumeng JC. Co-Development of Infant Satiation Cues and Maternal Feeding Behaviors during Infancy. Curr Dev Nutr. 2025 Sep 3;9(10):107542. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107542. eCollection 2025 Oct.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 28, 2021
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 25, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Children; Body mass index; Dietary quality
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Behavior, Animal; Feeding Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUM00181248; R01HD084163 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The research will generate demographic, behavioral, videorecorded, and anthropometric data. (Note the researchers will not make video data available). Meta data will also be included in the selected repositories. Of note, this will include only child age, but not birthdate or date of study visit as these would violate confidentiality. The metadata will include the data dictionaries, which describe the generation of all variables.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: We will make the de-identified data available within one year of completion of the study at the University of Michigan's data repository (Deep Blue Data Repository). We will not place video/audio data in the data repository due to the inability to de-identify the participants and protect their privacy
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: All data in the Deep Blue Data repository are available to anyone for download without restriction.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No