One study found that maternal use of food as a reward for behavior was the only feeding practice significantly associated with children’s eating in the absence of hunger—meaning that when kids are given food as a reward, they are more likely to eat for reasons other than being hungry. These results are further supported by a study that found that children consumed more daily fat, carbohydrates, and total calories when parents used food to reward behavior than did children whose parents did not use food as a reward.
