Helen Croker

Biographic Data

ID	5490744
NAME	Helen Croker
GIVEN NAMES	Helen
FAMILY NAME	Croker
SIGNATURE	CROKER H
AFFILIATIONS	University College London
ORCID	0000-0002-7247-6599
VERIFIED	Yes
TOTAL WORKS	29
TOTAL CITATIONS	102
WORKS AS AUTHOR	29
WORKS AS EDITOR	0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR	2003
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR	2026
H-INDEX	5

A systematic scoping review of adult obesity policy actions and weight-related services in a region of the United Kingdom using the behaviour change wheel
Open AccessAoibhin Kelly, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2026
Behavioural mapping of obesity policy actions/weight-management services is a novel approach with the potential to influence policy/service development. In Northern Ireland, using this method illustrated policy gaps and significant opportunities to improve Weight-management service provision
Parental use of distraction and portioning to reduce snack intake by children with avid eating behaviour
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Abigail Pickard et al.ARTICLEAppetite2026References: 31
INTRODUCTION: Children's avid eating behaviour is characterised by frequent snacking and food responsiveness. Parents need evidence-based advice on specific feeding practices, such as distraction techniques and portioning, that can be used to reduce children's intake of high energy-dense snacks. This experimental laboratory study tested the effectiveness of these feeding practices. METHODS: Parents and children (3-5 years; N = 129) who were ident…
Daily manifestations of Children's avid eating behaviour and associations with temperament, parental feeding practices and wellbeing
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2025Cited by: 2References: 46
Recent evidence has identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-5-year-old children in the UK: avid, happy, typical, and avoidant. Among these profiles, children with avid eating behaviour exhibit high responsiveness to food cues, emotional eating, fast eating speed, and low responsiveness to fullness, posing risks for overeating and higher adiposity. Despite the implications, there is limited research on how avid eating manifests and impacts p…
Examining momentary predictors of parental use of structure-based and autonomy support feeding practices with children with avid eating behaviour
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Abigail Pickard et al.ARTICLEAppetite2025
Associations between parent and child latent eating profiles and the role of parental feeding practices
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Claire Farrow et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 34
Previous research employing the person-centred approach of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) with parent-reported data of their child's eating behaviour identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-6-year-old children: typical, avid, happy, and avoidant eating (Pickard et al., 2023). In this follow-up study, the same parents were asked to self-report their own eating behaviour (N = 785) and LPA was conducted to determine the latent eating profiles o…
Differences in parental behaviour, emotions, and cognitions between children's eating profiles
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Abigail Pickard et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 45
A variety of parent psychological characteristics (e.g., wellbeing) have been related to children's eating behaviour. However, parent-child feeding interactions are reciprocal and complex, including relationships between parental cognitions, emotions, as well as the influence of children's varying appetitive traits. Using a person-centred approach, children's appetitive traits can be clustered into meaningful eating profiles. To date, no research…
Differences in parent psychological characteristics and feeding goals between children’s eating behaviour profiles
Open AccessKatie Edwards, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024
Examining parents’ experiences and challenges of feeding preschool children with avid eating behaviour
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Jacqueline Blissett et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 5References: 51
Avid eating behaviours, including greater responsiveness to food cues and emotional over-eating, have been linked to child overweight and obesity. Parental feeding practices are modifiable components of a child's food environment and may be key levers for behaviour change in tailored interventions to support parents of children with avid eating behaviour. However, there is a lack of research examining parents' experiences in this context. This st…
Associations between Avid Eating in Parents and Children and the Role of Parental Feeding Practices
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024
Reciprocal associations between parental feeding practices and child eating behaviours from toddlerhood to early childhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Moritz Herle et al.ARTICLEJournal of Child Psychology and…2023
BACKGROUND: Parental feeding practices (PFPs) are a key component of a child's food environment. Parent-child feeding relationships are hypothesised to be bidirectional; however, to date, few large prospective studies have examined this, instead focussing on unidirectional relationships. As such, the direction of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours remains unclear. METHODS: Data were from Gemini, a population-based sample …
Parental feeding practices as a response to child appetitive traits in toddlerhood and early childhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Alice Kininmonth et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
A million snacks
Open AccessKatie Edwards, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
Prospective associations between parental feeding practices used in toddlerhood and preschool children's appetite vary according to appetite avidity in toddlerhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Moritz Herle et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 7References: 52
Parental feeding practices are a key modifiable component of children's food environments. Evidence suggests that certain feeding practices may differentially influence children's eating behaviour or weight, depending on the child's temperament (e.g. emotionality). Building on this work, we tested the hypothesis that feeding practices during toddlerhood influence children's developing eating behaviours differently, depending on their appetite avi…
Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 17References: 50
This study aimed to identify distinct eating behaviour profiles in young children and examine how other key predictors of children's eating behaviour, including child temperament, the experience of food insecurity, or parental feeding practices, may vary by identified profiles. An online survey was conducted with 995 parents/carers living in England and Wales (N = 995, Mage = 35.4 years, 80% female, 88% White). Participants reported on their chil…
School Closures During Social Lockdown and Mental Health, Health Behaviors, and Well-being Among Children and Adolescents During the First Covid-19 Wave
Open AccessRussell Viner, Simon Russell et al.ARTICLEJAMA Pediatrics2022
IMPORTANCE: School closures as part of broader social lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with the health and well-being of children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To review published reports on the association of school closures during broader social lockdown with mental health, health behaviors, and well-being in children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years, excluding associations with transmission of infection. EVIDENC…
Public beliefs about the consequences of living with obesity in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Open AccessEleni Spyreli, Laura McGowan et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022
Beliefs about the consequences of maintaining a healthy body weight are associated with individuals' weight, self-rated health, diet and perceived ease of adoption of dietary and exercise-related improvements. Beliefs about the health risks of obesity and perceived greater costs associated with maintaining a healthy weight appear to have strengthened over time. Present findings are pertinent to researchers and policy makers involved in the design…
Appetite in Preschoolers
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2022Cited by: 1
School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including Covid-19
Open AccessRussell M Viner, Simon J Russell et al.ARTICLEThe Lancet Child & Adolescent…2020
Use of intervention mapping to adapt a health behavior change intervention for endometrial cancer survivors
Open AccessDimitrios A Koutoukidis, Sonia De Castro Lopes et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018
Systematic intervention mapping provided a framework to design a cancer survivor-centered lifestyle intervention. ECS welcomed the intervention and provided essential feedback for its adaptation. The program has been evaluated through a randomized controlled trial
Appetitive traits and relationships with BMI in adults
Open AccessClaudia Hunot-Alexander, Claudia Hunot et al.ARTICLEAppetite2016Cited by: 54References: 35
The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a validated parent-report measure of appetitive traits associated with weight in childhood. There is currently no matched measure for use in adults. The aim of this study was to adapt the CEBQ into a self-report Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) to explore whether the associations between appetitive traits and BMI observed in children are present in adults. Two adult samples were recrui…
The benefits and harms of providing parents with weight feedback as part of the national child measurement programme
Open AccessCatherine Falconer, Catherine L Falconer et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2014
In this population-based sample of parents of children participating in the National Child Measurement Programme, provision of weight feedback increased recognition of child overweight and encouraged some parents to seek help, without causing obvious unfavourable effects. The impact of weight feedback on behaviour change was limited; suggesting that further work is needed to identify ways to more effectively communicate health information to pare…
Study protocol for the 10 Top Tips (10TT) Trial
Open AccessRebecca J Beeken, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
ISRCTN16347068
Scoping the impact of the national child measurement programme feedback on the child obesity pathway
Open AccessCatherine Falconer, Min Hae Park et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
This study will provide the first large scale evaluation of the National Child Measurement Programme feedback. Findings from this evaluation will inform future planning of the National Child Measurement Programme
Cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the ‘Change for Life’ mass media/ social marketing campaign in the UK
Open AccessHelen Croker, Rebecca Lucas et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN00791709

Appetitive traits and relationships with BMI in adults
Open AccessClaudia Hunot-Alexander, Claudia Hunot et al.ARTICLEAppetite2016Cited by: 54References: 35
The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a validated parent-report measure of appetitive traits associated with weight in childhood. There is currently no matched measure for use in adults. The aim of this study was to adapt the CEBQ into a self-report Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) to explore whether the associations between appetitive traits and BMI observed in children are present in adults. Two adult samples were recrui…
Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 17References: 50
This study aimed to identify distinct eating behaviour profiles in young children and examine how other key predictors of children's eating behaviour, including child temperament, the experience of food insecurity, or parental feeding practices, may vary by identified profiles. An online survey was conducted with 995 parents/carers living in England and Wales (N = 995, Mage = 35.4 years, 80% female, 88% White). Participants reported on their chil…
Appetitive behaviours of children attending obesity treatment
Open AccessHelen Croker, Lucy Cooke et al.ARTICLEAppetite2011Cited by: 12References: 22
Prospective associations between parental feeding practices used in toddlerhood and preschool children's appetite vary according to appetite avidity in toddlerhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Moritz Herle et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 7References: 52
Parental feeding practices are a key modifiable component of children's food environments. Evidence suggests that certain feeding practices may differentially influence children's eating behaviour or weight, depending on the child's temperament (e.g. emotionality). Building on this work, we tested the hypothesis that feeding practices during toddlerhood influence children's developing eating behaviours differently, depending on their appetite avi…
Examining parents’ experiences and challenges of feeding preschool children with avid eating behaviour
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Jacqueline Blissett et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 5References: 51
Avid eating behaviours, including greater responsiveness to food cues and emotional over-eating, have been linked to child overweight and obesity. Parental feeding practices are modifiable components of a child's food environment and may be key levers for behaviour change in tailored interventions to support parents of children with avid eating behaviour. However, there is a lack of research examining parents' experiences in this context. This st…
Daily manifestations of Children's avid eating behaviour and associations with temperament, parental feeding practices and wellbeing
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2025Cited by: 2References: 46
Recent evidence has identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-5-year-old children in the UK: avid, happy, typical, and avoidant. Among these profiles, children with avid eating behaviour exhibit high responsiveness to food cues, emotional eating, fast eating speed, and low responsiveness to fullness, posing risks for overeating and higher adiposity. Despite the implications, there is limited research on how avid eating manifests and impacts p…
Associations between parent and child latent eating profiles and the role of parental feeding practices
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Claire Farrow et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 34
Previous research employing the person-centred approach of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) with parent-reported data of their child's eating behaviour identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-6-year-old children: typical, avid, happy, and avoidant eating (Pickard et al., 2023). In this follow-up study, the same parents were asked to self-report their own eating behaviour (N = 785) and LPA was conducted to determine the latent eating profiles o…
Differences in parental behaviour, emotions, and cognitions between children's eating profiles
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Abigail Pickard et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 45
A variety of parent psychological characteristics (e.g., wellbeing) have been related to children's eating behaviour. However, parent-child feeding interactions are reciprocal and complex, including relationships between parental cognitions, emotions, as well as the influence of children's varying appetitive traits. Using a person-centred approach, children's appetitive traits can be clustered into meaningful eating profiles. To date, no research…
Appetite in Preschoolers
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2022Cited by: 1

Stress and dietary practices in adolescents.
Martin Cartwright, Jon Wardle et al.ARTICLEHealth Psychology2003
Baseline data from the Health and Behavior in Teenagers Study (HABITS) were used to investigate associations between stress and dietary practices in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 4,320 schoolchildren (mean age = 11.83 years). Male (n = 2,578) and female (n = 1,742) pupils completed questionnaire measures of stress and 4 aspects of dietary practice (fatty food intake, fruit and vegetable intake, snacking, and breakfast consu…
Predictors of core and non-core food and drink intake in preschool-aged children in the United Kingdom
Open AccessLaura McGowan, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2011
Appetitive behaviours of children attending obesity treatment
Open AccessHelen Croker, Lucy Cooke et al.ARTICLEAppetite2011Cited by: 12References: 22
Study protocol for the 10 Top Tips (10TT) Trial
Open AccessRebecca J Beeken, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
ISRCTN16347068
Scoping the impact of the national child measurement programme feedback on the child obesity pathway
Open AccessCatherine Falconer, Min Hae Park et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
This study will provide the first large scale evaluation of the National Child Measurement Programme feedback. Findings from this evaluation will inform future planning of the National Child Measurement Programme
Cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the ‘Change for Life’ mass media/ social marketing campaign in the UK
Open AccessHelen Croker, Rebecca Lucas et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN00791709
Parents’ misperceptions of social norms for pre-school children's snacking behaviour
Open AccessPhillippa Lally, Lucy Cooke et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2012
Objective Misperception of social norms may result in normalising unhealthy behaviours. The present study tested the hypothesis that parents overestimate both the frequency of unhealthy snacking in pre-school children other than their own (descriptive norms) and its acceptability to other parents (injunctive norms). Design A cross-sectional, self-report community survey. Questions assessed the frequency with which respondents’ own child ate unhea…
The benefits and harms of providing parents with weight feedback as part of the national child measurement programme
Open AccessCatherine Falconer, Catherine L Falconer et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2014
In this population-based sample of parents of children participating in the National Child Measurement Programme, provision of weight feedback increased recognition of child overweight and encouraged some parents to seek help, without causing obvious unfavourable effects. The impact of weight feedback on behaviour change was limited; suggesting that further work is needed to identify ways to more effectively communicate health information to pare…
Appetitive traits and relationships with BMI in adults
Open AccessClaudia Hunot-Alexander, Claudia Hunot et al.ARTICLEAppetite2016Cited by: 54References: 35
The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a validated parent-report measure of appetitive traits associated with weight in childhood. There is currently no matched measure for use in adults. The aim of this study was to adapt the CEBQ into a self-report Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) to explore whether the associations between appetitive traits and BMI observed in children are present in adults. Two adult samples were recrui…
Use of intervention mapping to adapt a health behavior change intervention for endometrial cancer survivors
Open AccessDimitrios A Koutoukidis, Sonia De Castro Lopes et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018
Systematic intervention mapping provided a framework to design a cancer survivor-centered lifestyle intervention. ECS welcomed the intervention and provided essential feedback for its adaptation. The program has been evaluated through a randomized controlled trial
School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including Covid-19
Open AccessRussell M Viner, Simon J Russell et al.ARTICLEThe Lancet Child & Adolescent…2020
School Closures During Social Lockdown and Mental Health, Health Behaviors, and Well-being Among Children and Adolescents During the First Covid-19 Wave
Open AccessRussell Viner, Simon Russell et al.ARTICLEJAMA Pediatrics2022
IMPORTANCE: School closures as part of broader social lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with the health and well-being of children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To review published reports on the association of school closures during broader social lockdown with mental health, health behaviors, and well-being in children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years, excluding associations with transmission of infection. EVIDENC…
Public beliefs about the consequences of living with obesity in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Open AccessEleni Spyreli, Laura McGowan et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022
Beliefs about the consequences of maintaining a healthy body weight are associated with individuals' weight, self-rated health, diet and perceived ease of adoption of dietary and exercise-related improvements. Beliefs about the health risks of obesity and perceived greater costs associated with maintaining a healthy weight appear to have strengthened over time. Present findings are pertinent to researchers and policy makers involved in the design…
Appetite in Preschoolers
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2022Cited by: 1
Reciprocal associations between parental feeding practices and child eating behaviours from toddlerhood to early childhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Moritz Herle et al.ARTICLEJournal of Child Psychology and…2023
BACKGROUND: Parental feeding practices (PFPs) are a key component of a child's food environment. Parent-child feeding relationships are hypothesised to be bidirectional; however, to date, few large prospective studies have examined this, instead focussing on unidirectional relationships. As such, the direction of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours remains unclear. METHODS: Data were from Gemini, a population-based sample …
Parental feeding practices as a response to child appetitive traits in toddlerhood and early childhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Alice Kininmonth et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
A million snacks
Open AccessKatie Edwards, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
Prospective associations between parental feeding practices used in toddlerhood and preschool children's appetite vary according to appetite avidity in toddlerhood
Open AccessAlice R Kininmonth, Moritz Herle et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 7References: 52
Parental feeding practices are a key modifiable component of children's food environments. Evidence suggests that certain feeding practices may differentially influence children's eating behaviour or weight, depending on the child's temperament (e.g. emotionality). Building on this work, we tested the hypothesis that feeding practices during toddlerhood influence children's developing eating behaviours differently, depending on their appetite avi…
Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023
Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2023Cited by: 17References: 50
This study aimed to identify distinct eating behaviour profiles in young children and examine how other key predictors of children's eating behaviour, including child temperament, the experience of food insecurity, or parental feeding practices, may vary by identified profiles. An online survey was conducted with 995 parents/carers living in England and Wales (N = 995, Mage = 35.4 years, 80% female, 88% White). Participants reported on their chil…
Associations between parent and child latent eating profiles and the role of parental feeding practices
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Claire Farrow et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 34
Previous research employing the person-centred approach of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) with parent-reported data of their child's eating behaviour identified four distinct eating profiles in 3-6-year-old children: typical, avid, happy, and avoidant eating (Pickard et al., 2023). In this follow-up study, the same parents were asked to self-report their own eating behaviour (N = 785) and LPA was conducted to determine the latent eating profiles o…
Differences in parental behaviour, emotions, and cognitions between children's eating profiles
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Abigail Pickard et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 2References: 45
A variety of parent psychological characteristics (e.g., wellbeing) have been related to children's eating behaviour. However, parent-child feeding interactions are reciprocal and complex, including relationships between parental cognitions, emotions, as well as the influence of children's varying appetitive traits. Using a person-centred approach, children's appetitive traits can be clustered into meaningful eating profiles. To date, no research…
Differences in parent psychological characteristics and feeding goals between children’s eating behaviour profiles
Open AccessKatie Edwards, Katie L Edwards et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024
Examining parents’ experiences and challenges of feeding preschool children with avid eating behaviour
Open AccessKatie L Edwards, Jacqueline Blissett et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024Cited by: 5References: 51
Avid eating behaviours, including greater responsiveness to food cues and emotional over-eating, have been linked to child overweight and obesity. Parental feeding practices are modifiable components of a child's food environment and may be key levers for behaviour change in tailored interventions to support parents of children with avid eating behaviour. However, there is a lack of research examining parents' experiences in this context. This st…
Associations between Avid Eating in Parents and Children and the Role of Parental Feeding Practices
Open AccessAbigail Pickard, Helen Croker et al.ARTICLEAppetite2024