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Influence of early feeding style on adiposity at 6 years of age
W S Agras1, H C Kraemer, R I Berkowitz
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305.
Insights
A vigorous infant feeding style and delayed solid food introduction predict childhood adiposity. Parental education
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Childhood Obesity Research
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Previous research linked infant feeding style to early adiposity.
- This study extends follow-up to 6 years of age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify predictors of adiposity at 3 and 6 years of age.
- To examine the long-term effects of infant feeding behaviors and early life factors on body mass index (BMI).
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal follow-up of an infant cohort.
- Measurement of adiposity using body mass index (BMI).
- Assessment of feeding styles (suckling pressure, food introduction timing, breastfeeding duration) and parental education.
Main Results:
- At 3 years, vigorous feeding (high suckling pressure) and delayed solids/longer breastfeeding predicted greater adiposity.
- At 6 years, birth adiposity, lower parental education, and prolonged breastfeeding with delayed solids predicted greater adiposity.
- These factors explained 40.4% of adiposity variance at 3 years and 31.2% at 6 years.
Conclusions:
- Infant feeding practices and early life factors significantly predict childhood adiposity.
- The influence of feeding style diminishes over time, while social learning effects (parental education) strengthen.
- Early identification of risk factors is crucial for childhood obesity prevention strategies.
Abstract:
In a previous study we found that a vigorous infant feeding style measured in the laboratory at 2 and 4 weeks of age predicted the degree of adiposity at 1 and 2 years of age. A follow-up of this cohort of infants at 3 and 6 years of age is now reported. Factors predicting adiposity, measured by body mass index at 3 years of age, were pressure of suckling, with high-pressure sucking (denoting a vigorous feeding style) associated with greater adiposity, and time of introduction of solid food, with delayed introduction of solid food or breast-feeding longer than 5 months, or both, being associated with greater adiposity. Predictive factors at 6 years of age were adiposity at birth, with greater adiposity at birth predicting greater fatness at 6 years, parental education, with less education associated with fatness, and a prolonged period of breast-feeding with delayed introduction of solid food. These factors accounted for 40.4% of the variance in adiposity at 3 years of age and 31.2% at 6 years. The effects of social learning on body mass index, indicated by parental educational level, appear to strengthen over time, whereas the effects of the vigorous feeding style wane.