Temperament profiles are associated with dietary behavior from childhood to adulthood

Abstract Background and objectives Temperament may be associated with eating behaviors over the lifespan. This study examined the association of toddlerhood temperament with dietary behavior and dietary intervention outcomes across 18 years. Methods The study comprised 660 children (52% boys) from The Special Turku Intervention Project (STRIP), which is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial from the age of 7 months until the age of 20 years (1990–2010). Temperament was assessed using Carey temperament scales when the participants were 2 years of age. Latent profile analysis yielded three temperament groups, which were called negative/low regulation (19% of the children), neutral/average regulation (52%) and positive/high regulation (28%). Dietary behavior was examined from 2 to 20 years of age using food records, which were converted into a diet score (mean = 15.7, SD 4.6). Mixed random-intercept growth curve analysis was the main analytic method. Results Dietary behavior showed a significant quadratic U-shaped curve over time (B for quadratic association = 0.39, P Conclusion Children with a temperament profile characterized by high negative mood, high irregularity and high intensity in emotion expression constitute a risk group for less healthy eating over the lifespan.