The body build and composition of Samoan children: relationships to infant feeding patterns and infant weight-for-length status.

Abstract

The relationships between infant feeding patterns, infant weight status, and subsequent growth are not yet firmly established. This study attempts to address these topics among Samoan children. The study population consists of 1,186 children born between October 1974 and September 1976 who were subsequently seen in the Well Baby Clinic in American Samoa. On the basis of the clinic records the children were categorized into feeding groups (breast vs. bottle) and weight-for-length groups (less than 25th percentile or greater than 75th percentile of National Center for Health Statistics ( NCHS ) standards). A survey of 74 of these children was conducted in 1982. The average age of the children was 6.6 years. Twenty anthropometric measurements were taken and divided into three groups: skeletal, adipose, and mixed. Multiple analysis of variance was used on each of the groups of measurements to assess effects of infant feeding and weight-for-length. This analysis demonstrated significant relationships between infant weight-for-length and childhood skeletal size (heavy infants are larger children); between infant feeding patterns and childhood adiposity (bottle-fed children are fatter); and between both infant patterns and the mixed measurements (heavy and bottle-fed infants are heavier children with larger circumferences). The relationship between infant weight-for-length and skeletal size may be a continuation of infant patterns of high musculoskeletal weight in heavy infants. The relationship between infant feeding and childhood fatness was not affected by family income.