Associations of Healthy Infant Feeding Practices and Early Childhood Adiposity in the Rise & SHINE Cohort

We studied healthy infant feeding practices among 308 mother-infant pairs, including exclusive breastmilk, satiety cues, complementary food introduction, sugary beverage intake, and bottle use in bed. We examined associations of individual and cumulative infant feeding practices through 12 months of age with body mass index (BMI) z-score at 2 years. Exclusive breastmilk and avoidance of bottle use in bed were associated with lower BMI z-score (beta -0.29 units; 95% CI, -0.56, -0.02 units and beta -0.32 units; 95% CI, -0.57, -0.07, respectively), when accounting for maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, household income, infant sex, race, and ethnicity. Adherence to 4--5 practices, compared to <= 2 practices, was associated with lower BMI z-score (beta -0.84 units; 95% CI, -1.35, -0.34 units). Adherence to healthy infant feeding practices may reduce risk of excessive adiposity in early childhood. Targeting multiple infant feeding practices may be a more effective way to prevent childhood adiposity.

Automated summary

The study found that exclusive breastfeeding and avoiding bottle use in bed were associated with lower BMI z-score. Adherence to 4-5 healthy infant feeding practices was also associated with lower BMI z-score. Following healthy infant feeding practices may reduce the risk of excessive adiposity in early childhood.