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How does infant behaviour relate to weight gain and adiposity?
Charlotte M Wright1, Katherine Marie Cox, Ann Le Couteur
1PEACH Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, QMH Tower, Yorkhill Hospitals, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK. cmw7a@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
|August 25, 2011
Summary
Early infant eating behaviors and temperament do not predict childhood obesity. Interventions in infancy to prevent obesity are unlikely to be effective based on these findings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Developmental Psychology
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Understanding infant eating behavior is crucial for developing effective obesity interventions.
- Previous research suggests a link between infant feeding and later weight outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review established findings on infant feeding transitions, weight gain, and eating behavior.
- To analyze the relationship between infant eating behavior, temperament, weight gain, and childhood adiposity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Gateshead Millennium Study, recruiting 1029 infants.
- Collected parent-reported questionnaire data five times during the first year.
- Developed an infancy eating avidity score and assessed temperament at multiple infant ages.
Main Results:
- Infant feeding transitions appear to be a response to, not a cause of, rapid early weight gain.
- Infancy eating avidity correlated positively with height but not adiposity at 7-8 years.
- Infant eating avidity was linked to increased fussiness and lower satiety responsivity in childhood.
Conclusions:
- Infant temperament showed no consistent association with infancy weight gain or childhood adiposity.
- Interventions targeting infancy to prevent future obesity are not supported by these findings.
- The study suggests infancy may not be the optimal time for obesity prevention interventions.
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