Mothers’ restrictive eating and food neophobia and fathers’ dietary quality are associated with breast-feeding duration and introduction of solid foods: the STEPS study

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to examine the association between parental eating behaviours and dietary patterns and feeding practices of infants and young children.DesignData on infant-feeding practices were collected from each infant’s birth via parentally self-administered follow-up diaries. Three questionnaires, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, the Food Neophobia Scale and the Index of Diet Quality, were administered when the children were aged 4 and 13 months.SettingSouth-western Finland.SubjectsFamilies participating in the STEPS longitudinal cohort study (n1797).ResultsMean duration of exclusive breast-feeding was 2·4 months and total duration of breast-feeding averaged 8·1 months. The first solid food was introduced into children’s diets at the age of 3·9 months, on average. Mothers with highly restrictive eating were more likely to introduce solid foods sooner than mothers who ranked lower in these behaviours (3·8 monthsv.4·0 months,P=0·012). Neophobic mothers breast-fed exclusively (2·0v. 2·6 months,P=0·038) and in total (7·2v. 8·5 months,P=0·039) for shorter times than average mothers, even after adjusting for various demographic characteristics. Fathers’ diet quality was associated with total breast-feeding duration and with introduction of complementary foods in unadjusted analyses and with total breast-feeding duration also after adjusting for confounding factors.ConclusionsMothers’ and fathers’ eating patterns and practices are associated with the feeding practices of infants and young children. Health promotion interventions seeking to improve parents’ eating patterns might lead to more favourable feeding practices for infants and young children.

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Feeding practices in early life and later intake of fruit and vegetables among Japanese toddlers: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980015001779 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 650-657 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Hitomi Okubo ◽

Yoshihiro Miyake ◽

Satoshi Sasaki ◽

Keiko Tanaka ◽

Yoshio Hirota

Keyword(s):

Infant Feeding ◽

Breast Feeding ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Fruit And Vegetables ◽

Feeding Practice ◽

Solid Foods ◽

Western Countries ◽

Feeding Duration ◽

Breast Fed

AbstractObjectiveA growing body of evidence from Western countries shows that infant feeding practices are associated with later childhood dietary habits, but little is known about these relationships in non-Western countries with different food cultures. We examined the association of breast-feeding duration and age at introduction of solid foods with later intake of fruit and vegetables among Japanese toddlers.DesignInformation on breast-feeding duration, age at introduction of solid foods and child’s intake frequency of fruit and vegetables were collected with a self-administered questionnaire at 16–24 months postpartum. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios of low intake (<1 time/d) of fruit or vegetables for each infant feeding practice.SettingJapan.SubjectsJapanese mother–child pairs (n 763) from a prospective birth cohort study.ResultsNeither breast-feeding duration nor age at introduction of solid foods was associated with fruit intake at 16–24 months of age. Breast-feeding duration, but not age at introduction of solid foods, was associated with later intake of vegetables. When breast-feeding duration was categorized into two groups with the cut-off at 6 months, children who were breast-fed for ≥6 months had a significantly decreased risk of low intake of vegetables (OR=0·53; 95 % CI 0·34, 0·84) than those breast-fed for <6 months. This association was independent of potential confounders including maternal education and maternal vegetable intake (OR=0·59; 95 % CI 0·36, 0·97).ConclusionsThis finding suggests that ≥6 months of breast-feeding may prevent low intake of vegetables in early childhood among Japanese toddlers.

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Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding Patterns in Namibia

Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ◽

10.25159/2520-5293/4537 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Nelago Indongo ◽

Klemens Mutorwa

Keyword(s):

Child Health ◽

Young Children ◽

Time Course ◽

Maternity Leave ◽

Complementary Feeding ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Breastfeeding Initiation ◽

Solid Foods ◽

Infants And Young Children

Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices have significant implications for the child health status. In Namibia, the Maternal and Child Health programme has teamed up with the WHO and UNICEF to improve feeding practices of infants and young children. The main objective of this paper is to examine practices of breastfeeding and complementary feeding among mothers with infants and young children aged 0–24 months. The paper focuses on examining the period of breastfeeding cessation by mothers and the time of the introduction of complementary foods. Information was obtained from 9 176 mothers of 16 237 infants and young children aged 0–24 months interviewed during the 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey. A survival analysis was used to explore the effects of different variables on the time course of breastfeeding. Although breastfeeding initiation is quite high, most mothers do not continue to breastfeed to 24 months. Among children aged between 0 and 24 months, only 28.2 per cent were still breastfed, and continued breastfeeding is lowly practiced with only 6.1 per cent of children between 20 and 24 months still breastfed. A significant proportion of infants were introduced to solid foods before the recommended age of six months with 31.3 per cent given some solid foods. Developing a breastfeeding culture that involves increasing the duration of maternity leave for working mothers should be considered.

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Relationship of parental characteristics and feeding practices to overweight in infants and young children in Beijing, China

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980008003509 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 973-978 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Jiang Jingxiong ◽

Urban Rosenqvist ◽

Wang Huishan ◽

Bert Koletzko ◽

Lian Guangli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Parental Education ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Overweight Children ◽

Parental Characteristics ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Beijing China ◽

Infants And Young Children

AbstractBackgroundChildhood obesity has become a major public health problem in many countries. To explore the risk factors of overweight in infants and young children might be helpful in developing an early overweight intervention strategy.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of overweight and the relationship of parental characteristics and feeding practices to overweight in infants and young children in Beijing, China.DesignData on weight and length/height were collected on 4654 children aged 1–35 months in twelve communities in Beijing from a cross-sectional study. Overweight was defined as weight-for-length/height ≥2sd above the median of the WHO reference. Two hundred and fifteen families with overweight children and 215 families with normal-weight children were interviewed using a questionnaire to obtain feeding practices.ResultsThe overall prevalence of overweight was 4·7 %. Both parental overweight and low parental education were significantly higher among overweight than normal-weight children. The total energy intake was significantly higher in overweight than in normal-weight children at 12–35 months of age. Compared with normal-weight children, significantly fewer overweight children were breast-fed for at least 4 months. Overweight children were also more likely to have been introduced to infant formula and semi-solid foods during the first 4 months.ConclusionEarly prevention strategies should include feeding practices identified as putting children at risk of obesity. These include early cessation of breast-feeding and premature introduction of other foods.

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Appropriate infant feeding practices result in better growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1093/ajcn/87.6.1852 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 87 (6) ◽

pp. 1852-1859 ◽

Cited By ~ 88

Author(s):

Kuntal K Saha ◽

Edward A Frongillo ◽

Dewan S Alam ◽

Shams E Arifeen ◽

Lars Åke Persson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Infant Feeding ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Infant Feeding Practices ◽

Rural Bangladesh ◽

Infants And Young Children

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Infant-Feeding Practices Among Middle-Class Anglos and Hispanics

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.82.3.496 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 496-503

Author(s):

Anne L. Wright ◽

Catharine Holberg ◽

Lynn M. Taussig ◽

Keyword(s):

Breast Feeding ◽

Maternal Employment ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Single Women ◽

Bottle Feeding ◽

Solid Foods ◽

Healthy Infants ◽

Anglo American ◽

Education And Employment ◽

Almost All

Feeding practices have been analyzed prospectively in a sample of 1,112 healthy infants selected from families using an HMO. Data were collected at well-child visits during the first year of life regarding breast-feeding, formula feeding, and use of solid foods and cow's milk. Seventy percent of all infants were breast-fed, with the mean duration of breast-feeding being almost 7 months. Factors positively associated with breast-feeding included education and marriage, whereas maternal employment outside the home and ethnicity (being Hispanic rather than Anglo-American) were related to bottle feeding. Solid foods were introduced earlier by Hispanics and, also, among less well educated and single women; maternal employment was unrelated to the introduction of solid foods. Multiple regression analysis indicated different patterns for the two ethnic groups: education and employment were related to almost all feeding practices for Anglo-Americans, whereas education and employment predicted few feeding practices for the Hispanics. These findings suggest that the effects of ethnicity are independent of those of education.

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