At the table, the little boy announces that he is no longer hungry and pushes his plate. His sister of the same age continues to peck, as if the snack had never existed. This familiar scene may not just be the impression of a tired parent.
A team from Penn State University followed 64 children ages 4 to 6, 32 young girls and 32 young boysto understand how they react to their
satiety signals. Their study, published in the scientific journal Appetiteshows that boys adjust their meals after a fruit snack, unlike girls who eat the same quantity.
When the boys make up for the snack and the girls continue
The researchers invited each child to the laboratory five times, one week apart. Before a standardized meal (mac and cheese, vegetables, fruit, cookies and water), some received sliced apples, compote, juice, low-fat juice, or no snack. The volume was hidden in an apple-shaped box and everyone ate at the same pace, guided by an audio story.
Overall, the shape of the fruit did not change the quantities swallowed. But detailed analysis reveals a clear gap between the sexes. Boys reduced their meal almost exactly after the apple slices, with compensation around 99%, while girls far exceeded it, around 125%. “In this study, boys adjusted their total calorie intake during the meal based on their snack, while girls consumed a similar amount of calories regardless of whether they had a snack or not.“, explained Kathleen Keller, professor at Penn State. For the authors, boys seem to better preserve their dietary self-regulation.
Girls already more sensitive to the views of others
Why this difference so early, between 4 and 6 years old? Kathleen Keller puts forward a hypothesis: “The fact that the boys adapted their calorie intake based on their snack is positive: it suggests that they are listening to their bodies. Girls, on the other hand, may have been eating based on other social or environmental factors, independent of their hunger“
It suggests a societal influence. “Messages around diet differ for men and women in society, and this study suggests that these messages start very early in life“, said Keller. She recalls that thinness is highly valued for women and that girls are often described as more obedient, more attentive to the expectations of adults, including at the table: “Among women, thinness is highly valued; It is therefore possible that parents, caregivers and teachers are subtly conveying to young girls the message that they should trust the dictates of society rather than the signals of their bodies. Girls are also known to be more sensitive to social norms, making them more likely to pay attention to cues from their environment when deciding how much or what type of food to eat.r”.
Keller also insists that this disconnect is not innate. “There is evidence that all babies, boys and girls, are able to regulate the amount they eat. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. But as humans grow up, they lose this natural ability as they learn to read social cues about how much they should eat.“For girls, this shift towards implicit rules – finishing your plate, pleasing people, eating like the others – could simply occur earlier.
What parents can do to protect their daughters’ satiety
In an environment where high-calorie foods are readily available, Keller believes that losing connection to feelings of hunger and satiation can contribute to obesity or eating disorders. “This result serves as another reminder that we all need to listen to our bodies. If we pay attention, our body provides signals that we have eaten enough. But external influences like advertising, packaging, portion size and taste can enhance the pleasure of eating and overwhelm our innate biological awareness of satiety..”
Hence his message to parents: “Parents should encourage their children, as long as possible, to listen to their bodily sensations.”Keller said. “Out of necessity, children often have set schedules and receive food even when they are not hungry. It is important that they understand the difference between eating out of hunger and eating out of desire. We all snack from time to time, even when we’re not hungry, but if it becomes a habit, without paying attention to your body’s signals, it can be a problem.”.
Concretely, this involves accepting that a child leaves food, asking them if they are still hungry rather than commenting on their weight, and helping them to distinguish boredom or the desire to snack from real hunger, whether for a little girl or a little boy.