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Influence of infant feeding practices on childhood dietary patterns in Upstate KIDS
Priscilla K Clayton1, Diane L Putnick1, Tzu-Chun Lin2
1Epidemiology Branch, Division of Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6710B Rockledge Dr, 20817, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Insights
Introducing complementary foods later in infancy is linked to reduced fruit, vegetable, and dairy intake in childhood. This timing also negatively impacts overall diet quality, highlighting the importance of early feeding practices for long-term healthy eating habits.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Dietary Habits Research
- Childhood Health
Background:
- Early feeding practices significantly influence the development of dietary preferences.
- Understanding the impact of complementary food introduction timing on childhood diet is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate how the age of introducing complementary foods affects children's food intake and diet quality.
- To assess the relationship between complementary feeding timing and the Youth Healthy Eating Index (YHEI) in childhood.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Upstate KIDS cohort, including infant feeding information and childhood diet assessments.
- Analyzed associations between complementary food introduction age (4-12 months) and dietary intake/quality at 30-36 months and 7-9 years.
- Employed Poisson and linear regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- Later introduction of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein was associated with lower subsequent intake of these food groups.
- Introducing fruits and vegetables after 8 months was linked to a 13% decrease in daily intake.
- Delayed introduction of fruits/vegetables and dairy correlated with significantly lower diet quality scores.
Conclusions:
- The timing of introducing select complementary foods impacts children's food intake and diet quality.
- Further research is needed to identify infant feeding practices that promote healthy dietary patterns and improve diet quality.
Background:
Earlier feeding practices may influence dietary preference. We evaluated if age of introduction to select complementary foods shape intake and diet quality as measured by the Youth Healthy Eating Index (YHEI) in childhood.
Methods:
Parents from the Upstate KIDS cohort reported complementary food introduction of 4-12-month-old infants on food questionnaires. Children with information on infant feeding and diet at 30-36 m (n = 2826) and 7-9 years of age (n = 1449) were included. Associations of age of complementary food introduction with intake in childhood were modeled with Poisson regression and diet quality score with linear models, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.
Results:
Approximately 84 % (n = 2383) of mothers were non-Hispanic White and about 19 % (n = 526) of children were twins. At 30-36 months, compared to introducing fruits and vegetables between 5 and 8 months, introducing later was associated with 13 % lower daily intake of fruits and vegetables (aRR, 0.87; 95 %CI: 0.79, 0.95); while dairy and grains were associated with a 10 % and 17 % lower intake, respectively. Later introduction of protein was associated with 6 % (aRR, 0.94; 95 %CI: 0.90, 0.98) lower intake. For diet quality, introducing fruits and vegetables later (adjusted B: -4.01; 95 %CI: -7.42, -0.60) was associated with lower diet quality relative to 5-8 m. Later (adjusted B: -1.98; 95 %CI: -3.21, -0.74) introduction to dairy was associated with lower diet quality.
Conclusion:
Timing of select complementary foods was associated with lower subsequent intake and lower diet quality in childhood. Further research is needed to evaluate feeding practices that may affect food preferences during infancy as a way to impact healthy dietary patterns and diet quality.
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