Feeding Difficulty and Its Association with Growth and Development Among Young Children in China

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To profile the current status of feeding difficulty, and to investigate its association with growth and development of Chinese young children. Methods A cross-sectional survey named YI Study was conducted among children aged 1 to 3 years in four cities (Beijing, Ningbo, Shenyang and Xuchang) of China in 2019. Feeding-related information and anthropometry indicators including height, weight, head circumference (HC) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were collected by trained interviewers. Feeding difficulty was evaluated by the Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale (MCHFS), which is a brief 14 item-7point Likert parental report tool to assess about feeding and growth. Children with a total score of at least one standard deviation above the mean were marked as having feeding difficulty. The weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), height-for-age Z-score (HAZ), weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), BMI-for-age Z-score (BAZ), HC-for-age Z-score (HCZ), and MUAC-for-age Z-score (MUACZ) were calculated using the WHO Anthro software. Binary logistic regression and Multiple linear regression were used to explore the risk factors of feeding difficulty and its association with anthropometry parameters. Results Of the 376 children included, the total score of MCHFS was 34.26 ± 12.66. Among all the 14 items, the item with the highest (3.33 ± 1.99) and lowest (1.67 ± 1.25) score was “acting up/making a big fuss” and “Gagging/spiting/vomiting with certain types of food”, respectively. After adjustment for age, gender, area, family monthly income and physical activity, results of binary logistic regression showed that children with early addition of complementary food (early than 6 months, P = 0.027), self-reported pickiness (P < 0.001) or food allergy (P = 0.024) were more likely to suffer from feeding difficulty. Multiple linear regression showed that feeding difficulty was negatively associated with WHZ (β = −0.299, P = 0.022), HAZ (β = −0.434, P = 0.004), WAZ (β = −0.424, P < 0.001), HCZ (β = −0.542, P < 0.001) and MUACZ (β = −0.517, P < 0.001), expect BAZ. Conclusions Using MCHFS, feeding difficulty was detected among Chinese young children, which may be related to their growth and development to some extent. Funding Sources This study was supported by the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co. Ltd.