Children as young as five seek solace in food when anxious and stressed, a study has found.
Although some adults are well-known to be emotional eaters, the research shows that the seeds are sown at a very young age.
Researchers in Belgium asked more than 300 children, aged between five and ten, questions about their lives.
Topics covered included whether they had experienced stressful life events, such as the divorce of their parents or the death of a grandparent, and how angry, anxious, sad and happy they felt.
Bullying, problems with friends and rows with brothers and sisters were also factored in and parents answered questions about their children’s behaviour.
The parents also filled in a questionnaire about how often their children ate various foods, while the youngsters explained when they felt driven to eat particular foods.
The results showed that the more stressful a child’s life, the more sweet foods they ate.
Girls were particularly prone to comfort eat and to give into temptation when times were tough, says the research.
Researcher Nathalie Michels, of Ghent University, also showed that levels of the hormone cortisol rose with stress.
She thinks this may stop the body reaction to leptin, a hormone that normally tells our body when it has had enough to eat.
Dr Michels said that that parents and schools should teach children who to cope with life’s ups and downs.
She said: ‘Parents and children should be made aware that stress can influence emotional eating behaviour, so they can pay attention to potential triggers and anticipate this behaviour.
‘Furthermore, children should be equipped with stress-coping skills, such as problem-solving or asking for help, instead of seeking solace in food.’
Others said that parents should be aware that they are role models.
Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘From the moment that an infant is born it learns that sweetness brings comfort. It should therefore be of no surprise that it is sophisticated enough, even by age five, to know that it’ll feel better about some unhappy event having eaten a chocolate biscuit or something sugary.
‘After all, that’s what mummy does and parents are role models and copied.
‘Mummy, of course, should know better but most five year olds will lack the knowledge that indulgence food can be bad for you, and be habit forming, if not eaten in moderation.
‘There’s nothing wrong with the occasional sweet treat – but that’s a far cry from comfort eating to relieve stress.’
