Mexican Preschool Children Research Articles

Early symbolic numeracy and gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills in Mexican preschool children

The relation between early numeracy and motor skills has previously been examined, however, different results have been obtained depending on whether gross, fine, or perceptual-motor skills were considered in the study and the numeracy outcomes that were analyzed. The goal of the present research was to examine the relation between preschool children’s performance on two assessments of symbolic numeracy and gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills. A total of one-hundred-and-twenty-three Mexican preschool children were assessed on their gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills, their numeracy skills (i.e., applied problem-solving and symbolic number comparison) their numeracy precursor skills (i.e., number identification, cardinality and verbal counting), inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory. Results from hierarchical linear regressions showed that applied problem-solving was predicted only by children’s numeracy precursor skills while the ability to compare two symbolic numbers was significantly predicted only by perceptual-motor skills. The study highlights the importance of perceptual-motor skills to children’s early numeracy learning. Keywords: Early numeracy skills; motor skills; perceptual-motor skills; preschool children.

EXAMINING THE FACTORIAL VALIDITY OF THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST 1.5-5 IN MEXICAN MOTHERS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The aim of the study was to examine the factorial structure of the CBCL/1.5-5 (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) in a sample of mothers of preschool children aged 3 to 5 years from Mexico. 491 mothers completed the questionnaire in an online survey conducted from February 23rd to April 15th of 2022. A confirmatory factor analyzes was carried out. The seven-factor model was reproduced almost entirety, with the exception of the Somatic Complaints factor. The second-order bifactorial model showed an adequate fit, integrating the children problems into two Broadband scales, Internalized and Externalized problems. The results provide preliminary evidence of the construct validity of the CBCL/1.5-5 that support its uses as a screening tool for emotional and behavioral problems in Mexican preschool children.

The benefits of role play in the development of drawing in preschool children.

The purpose of our study was to demonstrate the benefits of role play based on a Historical-Cultural perspective with the implementation of symbolic elements generated by the development of drawing of preschool children from suburban origin in a group of normal Mexican preschool children. We predict that the quality of the drawings will be improved after the preschoolers participate in such a role play program. A pre-experimental study was carried out, with pre-test and post-test assessments. The drawings were assessed with quantitative (frequencies of the quality of the parameters) and qualitative (characteristics of the children's drawings) methods. The role play program was based on Elkonin's method, activity theory, and P. Ya Galperin's formation by stages of mental actions. The program encouraged the use of graphic signs and symbols, with the intention of representing situations, actions, objects, and/or contents. Twenty-six preschool children participated in our study. To know the effect of the role play program with symbolic elements on the drawing of preschool children, we performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis, a Wilcoxon test contrast between the initial and final assessment. Both analyses showed a significant increase in the scores in all the tasks with a medium-large effect size, being the largest "Pictograms" and "Drawing of the route"; and in the analysis of the qualitative parameters, specifically in "Maintains the objective," a significant increase was found in all the tasks. Role play, being the main activity in preschool age, develops all aspects of the child's psychic life. The importance of role play in a preschool child makes it possible to work in the zone of proximal development with the regulatory function of language, with the planning, execution, and control of playful activity and, most importantly, with the use of various materials and perceptual-graphics tools. These findings showed an improvement in the development and complexity of the symbolic function in the drawings. Role play, as a work methodology in preschool age, leads to the use of new meaning systems that prepare the child to carry out present and future complex symbolic actions.

Assessing the effect of an educational intervention on early childhood development among Mexican preschool children in the state of Oaxaca: a study protocol of a cluster randomized stepped-wedge trial

BackgroundEarly childhood development (ECD) is essential in human capacity building and a critical element in the intergenerational process of human development. In some countries, social programs targeted at improving ECD have proven to be successful. Oaxaca is one of the States with the greatest social inequities in Mexico. Therefore, children in Oaxaca are at a high risk of suboptimal ECD. In 2014, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Un Kilo de Ayuda started to implement the Neurological and Psycho-affective Early Childhood Development Program in eighty marginalized communities of Oaxaca. In this article, we present the impact evaluation design to estimate the effect of this program on ECD.MethodsWe will use a cluster randomized stepped-wedge design with an allocation ratio of 1:1. Communities will be randomly assigned to each study group: four groups of twenty communities each. We expect that children from intervened communities will show better ECD outcomes.DiscussionThis study is one of the few rigorous assessments of the effect of an ECD program on the neurodevelopment of Mexican children recruited in their first 3 years of life from communities of high social vulnerability. Our study design is recommended when the way in which outcomes are measured and assessed depends on age, self-selection is present, and assignment is performed at an aggregate level. Implementation research will be conducted prior to study launch and quality control measures will be in place to maximize the fidelity of study design implementation.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04210362

Impact of early childhood caries severity on oral health-related quality of life among preschool children in Mexico: A cross-sectional study.

Information is scarce on Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in Mexican preschool children and its impact on quality of life. To evaluate the ECC prevalence and its impact on OHRQoL in 3-5years-old Mexican children according to disease severity. Caries was determined at two thresholds: (1) children with at least one caries lesion (ICDAS-1-6) and (2) children with at least one lesion in dentin (ICDAS-3-6). OHRQoL was assessed through the Mexican Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (M-ECOHIS). Associations among caries severity, M-ECOHIS, and other variables were assessed by ordinal logistic regression. A total of 409 children participated (53.8% girls, 46.2% boys). Caries prevalence was 82.2% considering all lesions, and 45.0% for dentinal lesions. Significant linear trends (p<.05) among caries levels and categories of exposure were found for socioeconomic variables, dietary habits, and toothbrushing habits. Attending rural private schools (OR=1.39, 95%CI=1.11-1.72; p<.01), two main meals/day (OR=2.75, 95%CI=1.26-6.03; p=.01) and unsupervised toothbrushing (OR=3.20, 95%CI=1.96-5.24; p<.01) increased the risk to have high caries severity levels. M-ECOHIS scores were statistically significant associated with caries levels (χ2 (4) =175.85, p<.01; trend across groups z= 12.63 Prob > |z| < 0.01). M-ECOHIS was significantly associated with caries severity. Type of school, age groups, parents' educational level, family income, and living conditions were correlated with caries, showing how distinctive risk indicators were associated with different caries stages.

Dietary patterns in Mexican preschool children are associated with stunting and overweight.

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between dietary patterns, stunting, and overweight among Mexican preschoolers.METHODS This study was conducted with anthropometric (weight, height/length), sociodemographic (age, gender, education level of household head, socioeconomic status, country region and area, ethnicity, and beneficiary of social programs), and dietary data (Semiquantitative-food frequency questionnaire) on children aged from 1 to 4 years collected from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey-2012. Dietary patterns were derived by principal components analysis. The association between dietary patterns, stunting, and overweight was assessed by prevalence ratios (PR), estimated by Poisson regression.RESULTS In total, 1,112 preschoolers (mean age 3.06 years, SD = 1.08 years; 48.8% females) were included in the study; 11.9% of whom presented stunting, and 6.7% overweight. We identified four dietary patterns: Fruits and Vegetables [F&V], Western [W], Traditional [T], and Milk and Liquids [M&L]. Considering the lowest tertile of each dietary pattern as reference, the prevalence of stunting was 2.04 times higher [95%CI: 1.17–3.56] among children in the highest tertile of the “F&V” pattern. The prevalence of stunting was lower among children in the highest tertile of the “W” pattern [PR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.27–0.85]. Overweight was negatively associated with the “F&V” dietary pattern [PR = 0.37; 95%CI: 0.16–0.85 for its highest tertile], and children whose consumption was mostly equivalent to the “T” pattern showed higher prevalence of stunting [PR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.01–3.00].CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of stunting and overweight in a nationwide sample of Mexican preschoolers was associated with dietary patterns.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Mexican version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS)

BackgroundInstruments adapted for the Mexican population to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in preschoolers remain lacking. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Mexican version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (M-ECOHIS).MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted with preschool children from southern Mexico. The investigation was divided into a transcultural adaptation phase and a validation phase. The M-ECOHIS was completed by the children’s guardians, and clinical data were also evaluated. Reliability was evaluated using tests of internal consistency and test–retest measures, while construct validity was assessed through Spearman’s correlation coefficient between M-ECOHIS scores and self-reported oral health, and through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Construct validity was also evaluated through discriminant validity of the M-ECOHIS, which was determined according to questionnaire scores on oral health measures (e.g., dental caries).ResultsA total of 303 preschool children participated in this study. Regarding internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha was > 0.78 for the child section, family section, and general M-ECOHIS. The general intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test–retest reliability was 0.95. The correlation between the scores obtained on the child and family impact sections was significant with the self-reported oral health status rating. In relation to CFA, all items of the M-ECOHIS confirmed the latent variables. Further, M-ECOHIS scores were associated with the presence of untreated dental caries, indicating that the questionnaire has good discriminant validity.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the M-ECOHIS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the impact of oral health on quality of life in Mexican preschool children.

Home Learning Environments of Children in Mexico in Relation to Socioeconomic Status.

We explored the home learning environments of 173 Mexican preschool children (aged 3–6 years) in relation to their numeracy performance. Parents indicated the frequency of their formal home numeracy and literacy activities, and their academic expectations for children’s numeracy and literacy performance. Children completed measures of early numeracy skills. Mexican parent–child dyads from families with either high- or low-socioeconomic status (SES) participated. Low-SES parents (n = 99) reported higher numeracy expectations than high-SES parents (n = 74), but similar frequency of home numeracy activities. In contrast, high-SES parents reported higher frequency of literacy activities. Path analyses showed that operational (i.e., advanced) numeracy activities were positively related to children’s numeracy skills in the high- but not in the low-SES group. These findings improve the understanding of the role of the home environment in different contexts and provide some insights into the sources of the variable patterns of relations between home learning activities and children’s numeracy outcomes. They also suggest that SES is a critical factor to consider in research on children’s home numeracy experiences.

Stunting Distribution in Mexico, An Unsolved Problem

Abstract Objectives To update the stunting prevalence among Mexican preschool children and its association with socio demographic variables and social development programs. Results from National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018 (ENSANUT 2018). Methods ENSANUT-2018 is a national survey based on a multistage, stratified design. It is representative of the urban and rural areas and the four regions of Mexico: north, central, south and Mexico City and is comparable with the national surveys conducted in Mexico since 1988. In 2018, the sample consisted of 3868 preschool-age children (9 million 738 thousand subjects aged 0–4 years). Measurements included weight and height. The stunting, low weight and wasting (&amp;lt;−2 SD of z-score) prevalence's were obtained according to OMS 2006. Prevalences were adjusted for study design. Results Currently in Mexico, the stunting prevalence is 16.3%, that represent a million and a half of preschool children in such condition. In 2012 this cipher was three percentage points lower (13.6%). Low weight and wasting are at present 5.0% and 1.4% respectively. In rural localities from the south region of the Country stunting prevalence is 20%. In 40% of the households with low or very low Socioeconomic Index (NSE) a stunted preschool child lives. To inhabit in rural localities from the south of the country and live in a household with low NSE is positively associated with stunting in Mexico. Conclusions Mexico shows a slight increase of the stunting prevalence in contrast with the seen on previous decades. Chronical malnutrition is a risk factor for health, survival and children development, due to this, efforts must be enhanced for its control and prevention. Funding Sources Supported by Ministry of Health, Mexico.

Association of Food Parenting Practices on Child BMI z Score and Waist Circumference in Mexican Preschool Children After 1 Year of Follow-Up

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between food parenting practices (FPPs) and weight status among preschoolers and the directionality of this association at 1-year follow-up. MethodsA longitudinal exploratory study was conducted using linear regression and structural equation modeling to determine directional associations between FPPs and children's body mass index z score and waist circumference. The FPPs were estimated using Child Feeding Questionnaire subscales. ResultsA total of 91 parent–child dyads completed the study. In structural equation modeling analysis, when identifying the FPPs in a latent variable with its indicators of indulgent feeding, food as a reward and restriction predicted higher body mass index z score at follow-up. Higher baseline waist circumference was also negatively associated with the use of food as a reward. Conclusions and ImplicationsFeeding–weight associations are likely bidirectional. Understanding them, as well as the pathways between them, is critical to developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Dietary intake and adequacy in Mexican preschool children: National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012.

to estimate energy, nutrient intake and diet adequacy in preschool-aged children based on data from the Mexican National Healthand Nutrition Survey 2012. dietary data in children < 5 years (n = 1,212) collected through a Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire(SFFQ) were analyzed. Energy and daily nutrient intakes and adequacies were calculated comparing by sociodemographic characteristics. median daily energy intake was 1,252 kcal (adequacy 104%). Adequacies above 100% were observed for calcium, zinc, vitamin C,folate, vitamin B12, vitamin A and median of saturated fat. Low percent adequacies were observed for fiber, iron, polyunsaturated fat and vitaminD. Intakes were lower in the southern region compared to other regions. Most intakes and adequacies were higher in urban compared to ruralareas, but fiber had the opposite trend. Indigenous children had low intakes and percent adequacies. risks of dietary deficiencies and excess are present in Mexican preschool-aged children, with marked differences across sociodemographicstrata.

Internal and inter-rater reliability of the ASQ-3 in Mexican preschoolers

Introduction. Monitoring child development includes the promotion of development in the healthy child and the detection of delays and early indicators of disorders that begin in the first five years of life through easy-to-use, easy to mark, and low-cost screening tests. Objective. To evaluate the internal reliability and inter-rater reliability of the ASQ-3 in Mexican preschool children. Method. The ASQ-3 was applied to parents and/or teachers of 33 - 60 month old children who attended the Centros de Desarrollo Infantil (Child Development Centers-CENDIS) in the public and private sectors of Mexico City. Results. A total of n = 1052 questionnaires were obtained, grouped into six age groups (33, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60 months of age) according to the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3). The levels of reliability of the ASQ-3 for each of the age groups were acceptable, with a range of α = .77 to α = .88. Regarding inter-rater reliability (parents vs. teachers), moderate correlation levels were observed. Discussion and conclusion. The results obtained suggest that this is a screening instrument that reliably evaluates the five areas of development that make up the ASQ-3 in pre-school children. This represents an opportunity to continue studying the psychometric characteristics of validity of this instrument in representative samples of Mexican children to optimize the process of early childhood development monitoring.

Análisis tiempo-frecuencia del Potencial de disparidad (MMN) en niños preescolares mexicanos saludables

Análisis tiempo-frecuencia del Potencial de disparidad (MMN) en niños preescolares mexicanos saludables

Perceptions of childcare staff for preventing overweight in Mexican preschool children: A SWOT analysis.

To identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) perceived by childcare staff for preventing childhood overweight. Qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological approach; 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and 12 focus groups with 89 key informants working in six Mexican public childcare centers (CCC) were conducted. Through content and SWOT analyses, experts further ranked fifty-nine recurrent perceptions regarding healthy feeding and physical activity (PA), using the Delphi method. Strengths: Acknowledgement of the CCC's responsibility in fostering healthy feeding, availability of organizational regulations, and access to PA infrastructure/indoor activities. Weaknesses: Disregard of preschool overweight as a health problem, nu- tritional misperceptions, and perceived risk of child injuries while conducting PA. Opportunities: Willingness to reduce children's access to junk foods, and parental active play with children during weekends. Threats: Limited family nutritional education, and restricted parental time/economic constraints/access to safe public spaces for PA. The identified SWOT must be considered when developing obesityprevention interventions targeted at CCC.

Dietary Diversity in Mexican Preschool Children: Data from National Nutrition and Health Surveys in 2016

ObjectiveTo estimate a dietary diversity score in Mexican children from1 to 4 years of age with the results of the Half‐Way National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT MC by its acronym in Spanish.MethodsENSANUT MC is a national survey based on a multistage, stratified design. It is representative of the urban and rural areas and the four regions of Mexico: north, central, south and Mexico City, and is comparable with the national surveys conducted in Mexico since 1988. Dietary data were obtained with a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. From a food frequency questionnaire of 7 days, we classified foods and beverages in 12 food groups: fruits and vegetables, legumes, Meats, water, eggs, cured meats, fast food, snacks, candies and desserts, sweetened cereals, sweetened beverages and sweetened dairy beverages and dairy products. Dietary diversity was estimated by the total of food groups that were consumed at least 10 grams and three days.ResultsFrom a sample of 1697 of 1–4 years old, which represent 8, 711, 403 Mexican preschool children, 839 (49.4%) were male children and 858 (50.5%) females. Preschool children consumed in averaged 6.1 (95% CI: 5.8, 6.3) food groups. Children form rural areas tended to a lower dietary diversity (5.9 food groups, 95% CI:5.6, 6.2) than those from urban areas (6.2 food groups, 95% CI: 5.9, 6.4). South region had lower mean food groups (5.9, 95% CI: 5.4, 6.3) than north (6.4, 95% CI: 5.8, 6.9). Preschool children consumed mainly water (84.1%, 95% CI: 80.9, 86.9), fruits and vegetables (76.9, 95% CI: 73.2, 80.2), dairy products (73.0, 95% CI: 69.0, 76.7 and sweetened beverages (71.2, 95% CI: 66.9, 75.3)Tertile distribution of dietary diversity (low, medium and high) show that more than 50% of preschool in the slow category of dietary diversity ate less than three food groups in a week (water and dairy products). On the other hand, children with high dietary diversity ate at least 10 food groups in a week: fruits and vegetables, legumes, meats, snacks, candies and desserts, sweetened cereals, sweetened beverages, sweetened dairy beverages, dairy products and egg.ConclusionDietary diversity in Mexican preschool children is high, although this could be related to a higher access to a non‐recommended food groups suchs as cured meats, sweetened cereals, sweetened dairy and non‐dairy beverages, snacks, candies and desserts or fast food and fried Mexican snacks. It is important to increase access to recommended food groups in order to improved dietary quality of this population.Support or Funding InformationMexican Ministry of Health

Syndromic analysis of ADHD at preschool age according to A.R. Luria concept.

authors have studied attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children from different perspectives. Neuropsychological assessment can detect many kinds of cognitive difficulties, but the common syndromic picture has not yet been established. The idea of the existence of a specific neuropsychological syndrome based on A.R. Luria's concept differs from syndromes that are established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 th edition. The goal of the present study was to show qualitative parameters and features of cognitive activity in Mexican preschool children who receive a diagnosis of ADHD at preschool age. The proposal of such an analysis is for the whole syndrome. Neuropsychological assessment was applied to a group of Mexican preschool children with ADHD using the qualitative approach. Specific difficulties were observed not only with regard to frontal cortical function but also with spatial processing and the tone of general brain activation. The qualitative analysis of the data obtained by neuropsychologically assessing ADHD at preschool age allowed us to establish a specific complex of difficulties including functional weakness of the frontal and posterior associative cortical zones and general brain activation. New approaches to both assessment and remediation are urgently needed for preschool children in Latin America. Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, child neuropsychology, child assessment, syndromic analysis, neuropsychological syndrome.

Impact of fortified milk on the iron and zinc levels in Mexican preschool children

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a national program of consumption of fortified milk "Liconsa" on the nutritional status of iron and zinc in pre-school children (3-5 y). The study was conducted in 77 healthy children of both genders. 54 of them consumed Liconsa fortified milk (GCLFL) and 23 consumed no fortified milk (GR). Iron status was determined by measuring hemoglobin and ferritin and zinc status by serum zinc. The consumption of milk was on free demand and it was estimated at baseline and 6 mo after. Through 24-h recall of measured consumption of iron and zinc in the total diet. Descriptive statistics, Student's t test for independent samples and chi-square test for differences in proportions. Children who consumed fortified milk showed an increase of hemoglobin and ferritin levels [1.13 g/dL (p < 0.05) and 5.83 μg/L (p < 0.05) respectively]. Additionally, a decrease was found of the prevalence of low iron stores from 20.4 to 4.1% (p < 0.05). The serum zinc level showed an increase of 45.2 μg/dL (p < 0.05). At the end of the study no child showed a micronutrient deficiency. Children who did not consume fortified milk Liconsa showed no significant change in their serum iron and zinc values. The average consumption of milk powder Liconsa was 22.7 ± 14.5 g, providing 2.5 mg of daily iron and zinc. Supplied diet 9.2 ± 3.4 mg of iron and 6.9 ± 3 mg of zinc. The consumption of fortified milk had a beneficial effect on the serum levels of iron and zinc in children's social welfare program Liconsa.

Formation of Drawing Activity in Mexican Pre-school Children

The pre-school age is the period of great importance for psychological development and preparation for school. The process of learning and achievements at school depends on the types of activities selected at pre-school level. Unfortunately, it is often to find out that introduction of writing and reading is among the most common activities in pre-school institutions all over the world. Instead of this, we propose drawing as suitable activity for children development. The original program for gradual formation of drawing by stages was elaborated. The program is based on the usage of the zone of proximate development and considers psychological structure of graphic activity. The program was applied in different pre-school institutions in Mexico. All children were tested before and after application of the program. Before the program, all children have shown absence of developed drawing activity. After program application all children showed qualitative positive achievements in graphic activity, such as spatial global and analytic orientation, essential features, and shapes of represented objects. We conclude that drawing is extremely useful activity for preparation for school learning, especially for writing process. Our program may be used in pre-school institutions in order to guarantee correspondent level or preparation for school learning.

Association between stunting and overweight/obesity with income inequality among Mexican preschool children

We used data from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 from all federal entities and defined stunting and overweight/obesity (in children 2–5 y old) according to WHO criteria. Inequality levels were defined through tertiles of the Gini index. Our models included two indicator variables for medium and high income inequality, GDP per capita and schooling for each federal entity, age and sex interactions with all covariates. The prevalence of stunting was 11.6% at the lowest inequality level, 16.6% at the medium level and 19.3% at the highest inequality level. Prevalence of stunting at the medium and high inequality levels (16.6% and 19.3%, respectively) were statistically different from the prevalence at the lowest inequality level (11.6%; P=0.014 and P=0.002 respectively), no sex differences were found. Girls’ prevalence of overweight/obesity was 29.1%, 22.6% and 27.5% at the low, medium and high inequality levels, respectively. Boys’ prevalence of overweight/obesity at the high inequality level was higher than prevalence from the low (P=0.001) and medium (P=0.005) inequality levels. Our results indicate that after controlling for income there is a positive association between stunting and income inequality and a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity at the high inequality level for Mexican boys.

A high‐fat meat, dairy and sweets pattern is negatively associated with BMI in Mexican preschool children

Dietary patterns have been related to adult obesity in countries undergoing the nutrition transition, but few studies have examined these relationships during sensitive periods for development of child obesity. We describe dietary patterns and their cross‐sectional associations with BMI among 1041 Mexico City children aged 4 yr. Principal components analysis of 100 FFQ items defined 3 patterns: Vegetable/fish; Fruits/grains; Meats/dairy/sweets. We used quantile regression to model the association of each factor with BMI at 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of the analytic sample, adjusting for child's age, sex, energy intake, birth weight; breastfeeding duration; maternal BMI, schooling. Mean child BMI was 15.9, BW 3.1 kg, breastfeeding 8.5 mo; maternal BMI 26.0, schooling 10.4 yr. The Meat/dairy/sweets pattern was higher in fat, protein and calcium and associated with lower BMI across all quantiles (10th ‐0.19, p=.0004; 25th ‐0.11, p=.005; 50th ‐ 0.12, p=.014; ‐0.17, p=.002), except the highest (‐0.16, p=.16). This pattern could be related to lower BMI at 4 yr of age if children are experiencing higher linear growth but have not have undergone adiposity rebound. Further research should address the association of dietary patterns with longitudinal BMI and stature trajectories. Research support: NIEHS/EPA P20 ES01817101/RD834800 and NIEHS R01 ES007821; P30 ES017885.