| Research on health and development suggests a number of trends related to obesity and eating. For example, puberty is a time at which eating patterns tends to shift as food intake increases and maintains to accompany growth spurts. As adults age, metabolism slows and weight gain occurs in middle adulthood, and then eating patterns changes again in older adulthood. Food delay discounting (DD), a choice procedure that characterizes impulsive eating patterns may be used to understand how age is related to developmental changes in eating. The present study examined relations between age and DD for food and money. Other variables, such as obesity and puberty statuses, were examined. One hundred and fourteen participants (28 children and 86 adult) were recruited from community samples. They were administered the Monetary Choice Questionnaire, Food Choice Questionnaire, Slosson Intelligence Test-Revised, Subjective Hunger Questionnaire, and additional measures assessing for alcohol, nicotine, and substance use. Participants under the age of 18 also met with a board-certified physician to determine their pubertal status based on the Tanner Stages. Biometrics were collected to calculate individual body mass index and percent body fat. Regression analyses revealed magnitude effects (smaller magnitudes were discounted more steeply) with age and puberty identified as significant predictors for monetary and food discounting with variations depending on other covariates in the model and magnitude of the modality. Keywords: age; food choices; food discounting; monetary discounting; obesity; puberty |