Association between timing of introducing solid foods and obesity in infancy and childhood: A systematic review

Abstract

Determining early-life risk factors for obesity in later life is essential in order to effectively target preventative interventions to reduce obesity. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate current evidence to determine whether the timing of introducing solid foods is associated with obesity in infancy and childhood. Relevant randomized and observational studies from developed countries were identified by searching the following six bio-medical databases (Medline, Embase, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, Maternity and Infant Care, and PsycINFO) and hand-searching reference lists. Studies of pre-term or low birthweight infants were excluded. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Data from over 34,000 participants were available for interpretative analysis. No clear association between the age of introduction of solid foods and obesity was found. It is likely that a whole family approach to obesity prevention will be most effective and health professionals should continue to promote healthy infant feeding in line with national recommendations.

Ethnic differences in dietary intake at age 12 and 18 months: the Born in Bradford 1000 Study

“…Inappropriate early dietary patterns that are established during the complementary feeding period (weaning) may persist into the second year of life and beyond (13,14) and therefore optimizing a child's diet before the age of 2 years may be critical in preventing obesity-related disease (15) .…”

“…The diet of infants and toddlers has shortand long-term implications for health and development (12) . It is therefore important to be able to characterize early-life dietary intake, including understanding the influence of ethnicity on early diet, in order to examine how early diet influences later health outcomes including weight in childhood across diverse ethnic groups.Inappropriate early dietary patterns that are established during the complementary feeding period (weaning) may persist into the second year of life and beyond (13,14) and therefore optimizing a child's diet before the age of 2 years may be critical in preventing obesity-related disease (15) . …”

DOHaD

“…Un essai randomisé comparant l'effet sur le risque de surpoids à 6 ans, de deux préparations infantiles différant par leur teneur en protéines, a montré un effet protecteur de la formule contenant le moins de protéines [33]. L'âge du début de la diversification alimentaire a aussi été étudié dans ce contexte : une méta-analyse publiée en 2011 concluait à l'absence de lien évident avec le risque d'obésité [34]. Cependant, l'âge auquel l'enfant est évalué au cours du suivi pourrait être un facteur plus déterminant que l'âge de la diversification ou que la teneur en protéines des préparations infantiles, pour expliquer la variabilité des résultats entre ces études.…”

The Crisis of Obesity

“…The UK 1990 reference was developed from height and weight data collected in 1990 on a nationally representative sample of approximately 30,000 individuals, from birth to 23 years of age [18]. A similar national reference standard exists for the US, and this US BMI reference is based on nationally representative data gathered from all US children aged between two and 20 years, and collected between 1963 and 1980 [19,20]. Further, there are also presently two international BMI references which can be used to define overweight and obesity for children and adolescents: the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) reference and the WHO standard [9,21].…”