Obesogenic eating behaviour and dietary intake in German children and adolescents: results from the GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies

Background/objectives: The transition to adolescence is characterised by considerable behavioural changes, including diet. This study describes the level of obesogenic eating behaviours in 10- and 15-year-olds, and their association with dietary intake. Subjects/methods: Participants of the 10- and 15-year follow-ups of the German GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies were included (N₁₀ = 2257; N₁₅ = 1880). Eating behaviours and dietary intake were assessed via self-report questionnaires. Sex-stratified, cross-sectional associations of “external eating”, “emotional eating” and “dietary restraint” (the latter at age 15 years only) with dietary intake (17 food groups—categorised into tertiles, macronutrients, and total energy) were assessed using multinomial logistic or multiple linear regression as required, adjusting for covariates and correcting for multiple testing. Results: Reported levels of eating behaviours were low in both age-groups. External eating was higher in 10-year-old males than females, while all eating behaviours were most pronounced in 15-year-old females. At 10 years, emotional eating was associated with medium vegetable intake in females (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 1.84, p = 0.0017). At 15 years, external eating was associated with total energy (kJ) in females (β = 718, p = 0.0002) and high butter intake in males (RRR = 1.96, p = 0.0019). Dietary restraint in females was inversely associated with total energy (β = −967, p < 0.0001) and omega-3 fatty acids (Means Ratio (MR) = 0.94, p = 0.0017), and positively associated with high fruit (RRR = 2.20, p = 0.0003) and whole grains (RRR = 1.94, p = 0.0013). Conclusion: Obesogenic eating behaviour scores are low among children and adolescents of a predominantly high socioeconomic status population and present only few associations with specific aspects of diet, mainly among adolescent females.