title: Diet and growth in infancy: relationship to socioeconomic background and to health and development in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
abstract: To assess the relationship between diet and growth in infancy and socioeconomic background, all publications from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) covering breastfeeding, diet and growth in infancy, and the associations of these factors with socioeconomic background and later health and developmental outcomes were reviewed. Diet was assessed by parent-completed food records and parent-completed food frequency questionnaires covering infant feeding practices. Infancy growth was monitored through routine screening and by standardized measurements. Indicators of socioeconomic background were obtained by parent-completed questionnaires. Childhood outcomes were measured by standardized procedures. Rapid early weight gain was associated with later obesity. Longer breastfeeding duration was associated with lower body fat, but not lower body mass index, and with higher IQ in mid-childhood. Breastfed infants were better at regulating their energy intake than bottle-fed infants. In bottle-fed infants, energy intake at 4 months was associated with greater weight gain up to 5 years of age. Feeding cow's milk as a main drink in infancy was associated with anemia and high salt intake. Maternal education was a strong determinant of dietary differences: low education was associated with never breastfeeding and not following feeding guidelines. ALSPAC has provided unique insights into the relationship between diet and growth in infancy and later developmental outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Pauline M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Emmett
authors.forename: Louise R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D006128:Growth; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007360:Intelligence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology; D010290:Parents; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: breastfeeding; complementary feeding; diet; feeding guidelines; inequality; rapid early growth