Variations in infant feeding practice are associated with body composition in childhood: a prospective cohort study.
BACKGROUND
Most studies of infant diet and later body composition focus on milk feeding; few consider the influence of variations in the weaning diet.


OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to examine how variations in milk feeding and the weaning diet relate to body composition at 4 yr.


METHODS
A total of 536 children participating in a prospective birth cohort study.


METHODS
Diet was assessed at 6 and 12 months of age. Compliance with weaning guidance was defined by the infant's score for a principal component analysis-defined dietary pattern (infant guidelines) at 12 months. Infants with high infant guidelines scores had diets characterized by high consumption of fruit, vegetables, and home-prepared foods. Body composition was assessed at 4 yr by dual x-ray absorptiometry.


RESULTS
Longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with lower fat mass at 4 yr [4.5 kg, 95% confidence interval (CI) of 4.3-4.7 kg, in children breastfed for 12 months or more, compared with 5.0 (95% CI 4.7-5.3) kg in children never breastfed (P = 0.002)] but was not related to body mass index. Children with high infant guidelines scores had a higher lean mass [12.6 (95% CI 12.3-12.9) kg in children in the top quarter of the distribution, compared with 12.0 (95% CI 11.7-12.4) kg in children in the bottom quarter (P = 0.001)]. These associations were independent and were little changed by adjustment for confounding factors.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that variations in both milk feeding and in the weaning diet are linked to differences in growth and development, and they have independent influences on body composition in early childhood.
Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom. smr@mrc.soton.ac.uk
Siân M
SM
Robinson
Lynne D
LD
Marriott
Sarah R
SR
Crozier
Nick C
NC
Harvey
Catharine R
CR
Gale
Hazel M
HM
Inskip
Janis
J
Baird
Catherine M
CM
Law
Keith M
KM
Godfrey
Cyrus
C
Cooper
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014886:Weaning