Comportamento de Escolha em Crianças com IMC Normal e Acima do Normal em Diferentes Condições de Espera

Abstract

Obesity and overweight are defined as the excessive or abnormal accumulation of fat that develops health risks. It is estimated that 95% of cases of obesity are caused by behaviours such as eating food with excess of fat and sugar, excessive eating, sedentary habits, and environmental influences. Eating behaviour involves choices, choosing between eating or not is conceptualized by the experimental analysis of behaviour as self-control, which is inserted and studied within the area of choice behaviour. In this way, the behaviour of an individual implies in choices, considering that all behaviour is controlled by options. The use of the terms self-control and impulsivity is justified when it is clarified about which part of the use of the concepts from experimental model is employed, thus, the waiting or the choice by the reinforcer of greater magnitude and delayed or of smaller magnitude and immediate are measures that comprise some aspects of self-control and impulsivity. The current research aimed to verify in which environmental conditions children choose to wait for the delayed reinforcer and of greater magnitude, and if the Body Mass Index (BMI) is related to this choice. Thirty-eight children of both sexes, aged seven to 11 years, participated in the study. All participants were exposed to the three experimental conditions (alone, activity and couple), organized into six different order groups. The experiment consists in choosing to wait for 30 minutes to gain two chocolates, or, do not wait and have one. The results show that among the 48 participants, 39 of them waited for the delayed reinforcer and of greater magnitude, being 21 participants with normal BMI and 18 with a BMI above normal. Three participants with normal BMI who did not expect were in the experimental condition alone and one of them in the condition activity. Of the six with BMI above normal they did not expect, five of them gave up during the condition alone and one in the condition activity. Most of the participants chose to wait for the delayed reinforcer and of greater magnitude, mainly in the double condition, in which all chose to wait. In this way, it can be said that the results obtained are not enough to point out differences between BMI to the point of arriving at a conclusion that the Index is related to the choices for alternative of delayed or immediate consequence. The study in question points out the need for replications in order to identify procedures to analyse the behaviour of choice related to self-control, especially when it involves edible stimulus in children with normal and above normal weight