Eating behaviours may be expressions of genetic risk for obesity and are potential antecedents of later eating disorders. However, childhood eating behaviours are heterogeneous and transient. Here we show associations between polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI-PGS) and anorexia nervosa (AN-PGS) with eating behaviour trajectories during the first 10 years of life using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), n = 7,825. Results indicated that 1 s.d. increase in the BMI-PGS was associated with a 30–37% increased risk for early- and mid-childhood overeating. In contrast, 1 s.d. increase in BMI-PGS was associated with a 20% decrease in risk of persistent high levels of undereating and a 15% decrease in risk of persistent fussy eating. There was no evidence for a significant association between AN-PGS and eating behaviour trajectories. Our results support the notion that child eating behaviours share common genetic variants associated with BMI.

饮食行为可能是肥胖遗传风险的表现，并且是后来饮食失调的潜在前因。然而，儿童的饮食行为是异质的和短暂的。在这里，我们使用雅芳父母和儿童纵向研究 (ALSPAC) 的数据显示体重指数 (BMI-PGS) 和神经性厌食症 (AN-PGS) 的多基因评分与生命前 10 年的饮食行为轨迹之间的关联，n = 7,825。结果表明，BMI-PGS 增加 1 sd 与儿童早期和中期暴饮暴食的风险增加 30-37% 相关。相比之下，BMI-PGS 增加 1 sd 与持续高水平饮食不足的风险降低 20% 和持续挑食的风险降低 15% 相关。没有证据表明 AN-PGS 与饮食行为轨迹之间存在显着关联。我们的结果支持这样一种观点，即儿童饮食行为具有与 BMI 相关的常见遗传变异。