# Investigation of Momentary, Prospective Associations Between Working Memory and Eating Behavior in Children

> **NIH NIH R03** · MIRIAM HOSPITAL · 2020 · $80,696

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Pediatric overweight and obesity continue to be major public health issues. Loss of control (LOC) eating is an
obesity-related phenotype that affects approximately 30% of children and adolescents with overweight/obesity
and may impede successful weight control. Both pediatric overweight/obesity and LOC eating are associated
with relative deficiencies in executive functioning. In particular, our recently published data suggest that youth
with LOC eating and concomitant overweight/obesity have poorer working memory (WM) than their
overweight/obese and non-overweight peers. These decrements may inhibit their abilities to adaptively
respond to environmental and internal cues related to eating. A limitation of prior research is that it has largely
focused on individual differences in neurocognitive processes, thereby failing to inform our understanding of
how these processes may drive eating behavior on a moment-to-moment basis and limiting development of
interventions that can be delivered in real time when individuals are most at risk for engaging in LOC eating.
This R03 application proposes to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and validated dietary
assessment (Nutritional Database System for Research; NDSR) to assess eating behavior in the context of
acute WM, and assess whether fluctuations in WM are related to LOC eating or excess energy intake in
children (10-17 years) with LOC eating and overweight/obesity relative to their overweight/obese and non-
overweight peers. The applicant is a current K23 recipient (DK-105234) whose program of research has
focused on clarifying the etiology and maintenance of LOC eating in youth with overweight/obesity. The
applicant's expertise in momentary assessment of affective and neurocognitive processes underlying eating-
and weight-related disorders forms the basis of the current proposal. In particular, the applicant has extensive
experience utilizing EMA to understand antecedents and consequences of maladaptive eating in near real time
in the natural environment. EMA is ideal for investigating eating behavior in the context of WM as it allows for
prospective, momentary assessment of within- and between-person variables of interest. In the proposed
study, participants will monitor their eating behavior via EMA for 14 days, and dietary recalls completed on 3
randomly selected days during this same period. They will also complete EMA tasks of numerical and spatial
WM. Data on potential covariates (e.g., mood) will also be collected via EMA. These data will clarify timing and
trajectory of LOC eating and dietary intake in relation to WM performance. This study, which is the first to use
EMA to clarify if momentary WM performance is related to eating behavior, has clear potential to advance
scientific and clinical understanding of mechanisms that promote the occurrence of maladaptive eating in youth
and inform interventions to alleviate their cumulative personal and societal burden...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9850570
- **Project number:** 5R03DK117198-02
- **Recipient organization:** MIRIAM HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrea Beth Goldschmidt
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $80,696
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9850570

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9850570, Investigation of Momentary, Prospective Associations Between Working Memory and Eating Behavior in Children (5R03DK117198-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9850570. Licensed CC0.

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