Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42919389›Full record

SynthesisThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2026

Identifying eating behaviour phenotype cut-off scores for childhood obesity: an individual participant data meta-analysis using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ).

Laura Kudlek, Andrea D Smith, Cara F Ruggiero, Lisa Pennells, Alice R Kininmonth, Silje Steinsbekk, Pauline W Jansen, Amy L Ahern, Elaine K McCarthy, Amy Gross and 16 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
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In one paragraph

Synthesis in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Laura KudlekInstitute of Metabolic Science Epidemiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. laura.kudlek@ims.cam.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0947-3640
Andrea D SmithInstitute of Metabolic Science Epidemiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Cara F RuggieroInstitute of Metabolic Science Epidemiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Lisa PennellsDepartment of Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Alice R KininmonthSchool of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Silje SteinsbekkDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen, Norway.
Pauline W JansenDepartment of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Amy L AhernInstitute of Metabolic Science Epidemiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Elaine K McCarthySchool of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Amy GrossDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Victor VianaFaculty of Food Sciences and Nutrition, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Arend W van DeutekomDepartment of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Cardiology Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam,, Netherlands.
John C SpenceFaculty of Kinesiology, Sport, & Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Jennifer Orlet FisherDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Jacqueline HayesAlpert Medical School of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Emma HaycraftSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Charlotte A HardmanDepartment of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Patricia P SilveiraDepartment of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Jennifer A EmondDepartment of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Aino-Maija ElorantaInstitute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Darlise R Dos Passos GomesDepartment of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
Julie C LumengDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Matthew B CrossUSDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Bates, Houston, TX, 1100, USA.
Susan CarnellDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Alison Fildes *School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Clare Llewellyn *Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.

Funding

British Heart Foundation RG/F/23/110103Economic and Social Research Council PR:1948633Medical Research Council MC_UU_00006/5Medical Research Council MC_UU_00006/6National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR203312
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWeight management interventions targeting appetitive traits show promise in treating childhood obesity, yet a tool to identify appetitive phenotypes for personalised treatment is missing. The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a widely used measure of eight parent-reported appetitive traits associated with childhood obesity. We aimed to explore the utility of the CEBQ for phenotyping childhood obesity and derive cut-off scores to support clinical decision-making.

methodsThis individual participant data meta-analysis combined cross-sectional data from 17 international studies (N = 15,273) on CEBQ scores and Body Mass Index Standard Deviation Scores from children (2-18 years). The potential of CEBQ subscales (Food Responsiveness, Enjoyment of Food, Emotional Over-eating, Desire to Drink, Satiety Responsiveness, Slowness in Eating, Emotional Under-eating, Food Fussiness) to discriminate weight status was explored in random-effect meta-analyses of Area Under the Curve (AUC) metrics. We explored heterogeneity across studies and age- and sex- specific subgroups. Cut-off scores were derived within subgroups using (a) the Youden's Index and (b) the point maximising specificity after a minimum sensitivity of 60%. We meta-analysed study-specific performance with the selected cut-offs to describe heterogeneity across studies.

resultsAUCs for CEBQ subscales ranged from 0.60 to 0.71. The magnitude and shape of associations between CEBQ scores and obesity varied by age and sex. Cut-off performance was generally better in middle- than early childhood. The best performing cut-off score of 2.6 was observed for females aged 7-12 years for Food Responsiveness (Sensitivity: 0.81 [95%CI 0.77, 0.85]; Specificity: 0.85 [95%CI 0.82, 0.88]). High heterogeneity in cut-off performance across studies and wide prediction intervals suggest the need to further investigate external validity.

conclusionsWe provide the first empirically derived CEBQ subscale cut-offs to phenotype children with obesity based on weight-related eating behaviours. Cut-offs could support personalised treatment in clinical and research contexts.

fundingMC_UU_00006/6 and MC_UU_00006/5.

Indexed as

Child BehaviorFeeding BehaviorPediatric ObesityAdolescentBody Mass IndexChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePhenotypeSurveys and QuestionnairesBehavioural obesity phenotypesChild eating behaviour questionnaire (CEBQ)Childhood obesityCut-off scores

Identifiers

PMID42919389

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.