Caregiver Feeding Practices and Their Association With Nutritional Status in Children Aged 0-5 Years: A Descriptive...

Background Adequate nutrition in the first five years of life is critical for optimal physical growth, cognitive development, and long-term health outcomes. Caregiver feeding practices are an important factor associated with nutritional outcomes in young children with a spectrum of behaviors ranging from responsive feeding to more controlling strategies. While responsive feeding has been linked to better growth outcomes, the impact of specific feeding behaviors on child nutritional status in tertiary pediatric settings in North India remains poorly characterized. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate caregiver feeding practices using a validated tool and examine their association with nutritional status in children aged 0-5 years. Objectives The objective of this study is to assess caregiver feeding practices using the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire (FPSQ) and examine their association with nutritional status (Indian Academy of Pediatrics {IAP} grading) in children aged 0-5 years attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care pediatric center, in order to identify feeding behaviors associated with malnutrition in this setting. Materials and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of three months in the outpatient department of pediatrics at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana. A total of 150 caregivers of children aged 0-5 years were enrolled. After obtaining informed consent, each caregiver was administered a structured questionnaire (Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire {FPSQ}), which is a validated tool assessing both feeding practices and feeding patterns. Simultaneously, anthropometric measurements of the children were recorded, and their nutritional status was classified using the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) grading system. The collected data were analyzed to assess the association between feeding behavior and nutritional status. Results Out of 150 children, 83.3% were normally nourished, 16% had mild malnutrition, and 0.7% had moderate malnutrition. Responsive feeding behaviors such as feeding on demand and shared family meals were the most commonly reported practices. In the milk-feeding group, feeding on demand showed a significant association with better nutritional status (p = 0.015). In the semi-solid group, parent-led feeding was significantly associated with malnutrition (p = 0.008). Conclusion Feeding on demand was associated with better nutritional outcomes in milk-fed children, while parent-led feeding was associated with malnutrition in the semi-solid-feeding group. These findings are hypothesis-generating, given the cross-sectional design, and reverse causality cannot be excluded. Responsive feeding counseling may be a relevant avenue for nutritional improvement in routine pediatric outpatient care.