Abstract
BackgroundInappropriate feeding practices during infancy may lead to overweight. The aims of this study are to investigate the growth of children in the first 18 months of life; to evaluate the feeding practices of caregivers using developed Young Child Feeding Questionnaire; and to investigate caregivers’ feeding attitudes and behaviors associated with infants’ weight status.MethodsSix month-old infants and their main caregivers entering the Kongjiang Community Health Center for a routine well-child check were recruited for this study and followed up every 6 months for 12 months. Questionnaire survey was carried out through on-site face-to-face interview at each visit with the main caregivers of children using Young Child Feeding Questionnaire, which included caregivers’ feeding attitudes and behaviors. The weight and length of children were measured at each visit.ResultsAmong 197 children who completed the investigation at 18 months of age, 64 (32.49 %) children were overweight (BMI-for-age z scores > +1). The increases in weight-for-age z scores and BMI-for-age z scores from birth to 6 months, 12 to 18 months and birth to 18 months in overweight children were significantly higher than those in normal weight children (P < 0.001). In normal weight children, caregivers worried more about children’s being “underweight” and “eating less” (P = 0.001), whereas caregivers with overweight children worried more about children’s “eating too much” and being “overweight” (P < 0.001). In 64 overweight infants, the scores of “concern about child’s food intake” were significantly correlated with increase in BAZ between 12 and 18 months (Bata = 0.293, P = 0.029).ConclusionsYoung Child Feeding Questionnaire is a valid tool for evaluating feeding practice of caregivers. The rapid BMI gain in overweight children may be associated with some inappropriate feeding attitudes and behaviors of caregivers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-015-0418-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Inappropriate feeding practices during infancy may lead to overweight
The aims of our study are to (1) investigate the growth of children 6–18 months; (2) evaluate the feeding practices of caregivers of children 6–18 months using developed Young Child Feeding Questionnaire (YCFQ) based on existing infant and child feeding questionnaires [16, 19, 20] combined with clinical experience; (3) investigate caregivers’ feeding attitudes and behaviors associated with infants’ weight status
There was no significant difference in the prevalence of overweight between girls and boys (35.48 % vs. 29.81 %, χ2 = 0.721, P = 0.396)
Summary
The aims of this study are to investigate the growth of children in the first 18 months of life; to evaluate the feeding practices of caregivers using developed Young Child Feeding Questionnaire; and to investigate caregivers’ feeding attitudes and behaviors associated with infants’ weight status. Childhood overweight often tracks into adulthood and is associated with the development of adverse health outcomes in late adulthood. Rapid weight gain in infancy is an important predictor of obesity in later childhood. Evidences show that rapid weight gain in early life may be closely related to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in adulthood [4,5,6]
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