Are there any studies that indicate restricting junk food for children will make them crave it?

[mulranno]

Have heard lots of anecdotal stuff about people whose parents restricted treats when they were children then become binge eaters.

Does this stand up scientifically? Where do you draw the line?...can children really regulate their intake if you leave unlimited treats around the house...or will they just become obese and their teeth will fall out? Or do you just set boundaries...? what are they..? eg one treat a day?..or is this restriction also?

Watching all of those Honey we are killing the kids programmes -- you see time and time again children who just graze on six paacks of crisps a day.

I just wonder if some people are just born with more self control thast others.

What do you think?

I was at Uni with a girl who up until then had never had a takeaway/junk food.
She was a right fat spotty thing after the first term

Everything in moderation, got to be best, surely?

no idea.. we have treats in the house.. no one grases on them.. but they are there if anyone fancies a nicey after tea.

I totaly believe that it's learned behaviour.

I agree, it is a 'learnt' thing. Personally, I'm not big on sweet stuff or crisps, so it was easy for me. I just didn't generally have them in the house when DD was little. That's not to say, she didn't have them, she did, but not readily available to 'graze' on.

I've never been able to stomach the idea of chocolate before lunchtime either, so very early in her life, dd would ask me 'what can I eat at this time of day!' Now, at 13, if she's had a couple of meals out with friends, like pizza or burgers, she craves fruit and veg!

I think there have been studies identifying certain types of junk food as addictive, and therefore the "regulate own intake" argument is likely to hold up less well, because your body just doesn't react sensibly to such foods but will crave them no matter what.

There was something published a while ago saying that children should not have alcohol at all before 15 because of the dangers of exposure to an addictive substance at such a young age. There was lots and lots of talk in the media etc. saying "oh but that's why you have to start them young, to give them a healthy attitude to alcohol" but it was interesting that the expert body's advice was contrary to this (not sure what kind of research it was based on though)

I think there are some types of food that no young child or probably most teenagers will have good self-control over if available absolutely freely with no restriction or caveats. I also think that there are some body/metabolism types that are more likely to go mental over food, who probably need more help to keep the bad stuff out of their diets. And for them, moderation is probably much harder to achieve than abstaining.

Mrs Boring...I recognise myself in your last para so I suppose I am one of those food/addicts with little control ...so find it hard to understand that my children could self regulate....and probably why I try to contrl? manage? protect them with rules?

But conversely with alcohol...I can self regulate and would find no reason to abstain. ... whilst others have a problem with limiting in take. Think that we just need to be aware if you one of thew compulsive/addictive people...maybe best to let my children have free reign now then teach the ones who have issues to manage it?