Child Eating Behavior Outcomes of an Early Feeding Intervention to Reduce Risk Indicators for Child Obesity: The NOURISH RCT

Objective: The objective was to describe parent-reported child eating behavior and maternal parenting impact outcomes of an infant feeding intervention to reduce child obesity risk. Methods: An assessor masked Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with concealed allocation of individual mother-infant dyads. The NOURISH RCT enrolled 698 first-time mothers (mean age 30.1 years, SD = 5.3) with healthy term infants (51% female) aged 4.3 months (SD = 1.0) at baseline. Outcomes were assessed 6 months post-intervention when the children were 2 years old. Mothers reported on child eating behaviors using the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), food preferences, and dietary intake using a 24-hour telephone recall. Parenting was assessed using five scales validated for use in Australia. Results: Intervention effects were evident on the CEBQ overall (MANOVA P = 50.002) and 4/8 subscales: child satiety responsiveness (P = 0.03), fussiness (P = 0.01), emotional overeating (P< 0.01), and food responsiveness ( P = 0.06). Intervention children liked more fruits (P< 0.01) and fewer non-core foods and beverages (P = 0.06, 0.03). The intervention mothers reported greater autonomy encouragement (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Anticipatory guidance on protective feeding practices appears to have modest positive impacts on child eating behaviors that are postulated to reduce future obesity risk.