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Birth weight and eating behaviors of young children

Andreia Oliveira1, Blandine de Lauzon-Guillain2, Louise Jones3

  • 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal; Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|December 3, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Children born small for gestational age experienced more feeding difficulties and poor eating patterns in early childhood. These issues persisted even after accounting for the child's body mass index (BMI).

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Birth weight standardized for gestational age is a key indicator of early development.
  • Problematic eating behaviors can impact a child's growth and long-term health.
  • Understanding early life factors influencing eating behaviors is crucial for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prospective association between birth weight for gestational age and problematic eating behaviors.
  • To examine these relationships across different childhood ages and in multiple birth cohorts.
  • To explore the moderating effect of child's current body mass index (BMI) on these associations.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study involving three large birth cohorts (Generation XXI, ALSPAC, HabEat).
  • Problematic eating behaviors assessed via parental reports at multiple time points (4-54 months).
  • Logistic regression analysis adjusted for various maternal and child factors, including child's BMI z-score.

Main Results:

  • Children born small for gestational age (SGA) showed significantly higher odds of feeding difficulties and poor eating patterns at 4-6 months compared to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) peers.
  • These associations were generally weaker at older ages.
  • The relationship between SGA and eating difficulties remained significant after adjusting for the child's current BMI.

Conclusions:

  • Low birth weight for gestational age is a significant predictor of early childhood eating difficulties.
  • The impact of SGA on eating behaviors is most pronounced in the first 4-6 months of life.
  • Childhood BMI plays a role in modifying these associations, but does not fully attenuate the effect of SGA.
Abstract

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