{
  "abstract": "Background Weight 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. Methods This 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. Results AUCs 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. Conclusions We 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. Funding MC_UU_00006/6 and MC_UU_00006/5.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Metabolic Science Epidemiology, University of Cambridge",
    "Department of Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge",
    "School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds",
    "Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology",
    "Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam",
    "School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork",
    "Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota",
    "Faculty of Food Sciences and Nutrition, University of Porto",
    "Department of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Cardiology Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital Rotterdam",
    "Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, & Recreation, University of Alberta",
    "Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health, Temple University",
    "Alpert Medical School of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital",
    "School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University",
    "Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool",
    "Department of Psychiatry, McGill University",
    "Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College",
    "Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland",
    "Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas",
    "Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan",
    "USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine",
    "School of Psychology, University of Leeds",
    "Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 26,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Laura Kudlek"
    },
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Andrea D. Smith"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Cara F. Ruggiero"
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    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lisa Pennells"
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    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Alice R. Kininmonth"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Silje Steinsbekk"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Pauline W. Jansen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Amy L. Ahern"
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    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Elaine K. McCarthy"
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    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Amy Gross"
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    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Victor Viana"
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    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Arend W. van Deutekom"
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    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "John C. Spence"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Jennifer Orlet Fisher"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Jacqueline Hayes"
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    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "Emma Haycraft"
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    {
      "affs": [
        13
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte A. Hardman"
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    {
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        14
      ],
      "name": "Patricia P. Silveira"
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    {
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        15
      ],
      "name": "Jennifer A. Emond"
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    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "Aino-Maija Eloranta"
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    {
      "affs": [
        17
      ],
      "name": "Darlise R. dos Passos Gomes"
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    {
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        18
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      "name": "Julie C. Lumeng"
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    {
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        19
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      "name": "Matthew B. Cross"
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    {
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      "name": "Susan Carnell"
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        21
      ],
      "name": "Alison Fildes"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        22
      ],
      "name": "Clare Llewellyn"
    }
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  "doi": "10.1186/s12966-026-01951-8",
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  "published": "2026-07-01",
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  "title": "Identifying eating behaviour phenotype cut-off scores for childhood obesity: an individual participant data meta-analysis using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ)",
  "title_text": "Identifying eating behaviour phenotype cut-off scores for childhood obesity: an individual participant data meta-analysis using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ)",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:46:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2qdhf178hzj3z",
  "venue": "International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity",
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