Prospective associations of eating behaviors with weight gain in infants

Abstract

Objective To examine whether maternal reports of infant eating behaviors are stable over time and whether eating behaviors are prospectively associated with weight gain. Methods In an ongoing study of infant growth, weight and length were measured at 2-weeks, 3-months, and 5-months of age. Food responsiveness (FR), satiety responsiveness (SR), enjoyment of feeding (EF), and slow eating (SE) were assessed with the Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine changes in eating behaviors from 2-weeks to 5-months. Simple Pearson correlations examined associations among eating behaviors across time, and associations of eating behaviors with subsequent change in weight-for-length z-scores. Results Among 31 infants studied from 2-weeks to 3-months, FR and SR remained consistent (P<0.05), and among 21 infants studied from 3- to 5-months, FR, EF, and SE were consistent (P<0.01). Infants ate more quickly (P<0.01), and tended to have greater SR with age (P=0.09). Only SE at 3-months was associated with subsequent gain in weight-for-length (P<0.05). Conclusions Consistent with previous research, SE was predictive of weight gain during infancy. Given that eating behaviors were largely consistent after 3-months of age, it may be important to encourage the development of healthy eating behaviors during early infancy.

A functional description of adult picky eating using latent profile analysis

“…To date, the stability of the appetitive traits from childhood to adulthood has not been studied, with the exception of picky eating, which has been shown to persist across childhood [ 18 ] and into young adulthood [ 25 ]. Other appetitive traits have shown stability from birth to 10 years old [ 21 , 26 , 27 ]. In addition, all of these traits show evidence of high heritability, suggesting that they are best thought of as stable traits that are expressed relatively similarly across the lifespan [ 28 – 30 ].…”

The association of birth weight and postnatal growth with energy intake and eating behavior at 5 years of age – a birth cohort study

“…Third, because of the observational nature of the study with energy intake and satiety responsiveness not measured until 5 years of age, we cannot infer causality. Although the temporal order of our findings suggests an effect of early weight gain on later energy intake and satiety response, a recent study suggested reversed causality: i.e., that infants may already have an increased energy intake and diminished satiety response leading to subsequent increased infant and childhood weight gain [ 51 ]. Studies are currently underway that aim to capture feeding practices and eating behaviors from infancy onwards and relate them to future growth [ 52 ].…”

Associations between human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and eating behaviour in Hispanic infants at 1 and 6 months of age

“…This is the first study to examine relationships between HMOs and infant eating behavior. In particular, we examined food responsiveness, which has previously been shown to positively predict rapid infant weight gain 17‐20 —an established risk factor for later obesity 21‐23 . We hypothesized that LNFPII would be associated with reduced food responsiveness at 1 month, based on our previous analysis of weight change between 1 and 6 months in this cohort.…”

“…The BEBQ measures an infant's food responsiveness (ie, drive to eat), enjoyment of food, general appetite, satiety responsiveness (ie, response to fullness) and speed of eating 16 . Greater enjoyment of food, quicker eating, reduced satiety responsiveness and increased food responsiveness scores on the BEBQ have all been associated with rapid weight gain in infancy 17‐20 —a risk factor for childhood and adult obesity 21‐23 …”