title: Birth weight and eating behaviors of young children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationships prospectively between birth weight (standardized for gestational age) and problematic eating behaviors, as reported by the parents, at different ages in 3 birth cohorts: Generation XXI (Portugal), Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (United Kingdom), and Etude des Déterminants pre et postnatals précoces du développement et de la santé de l'ENfant study (France) - HabEat project. We also aimed to explore the effect of child's current body mass index (BMI) in these relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  Problematic eating behaviors were assessed at 4-6, 12-15, 24, and 48-54 months, based on caregiver's perception. Children born small, appropriate, and large for gestational age were defined based on sex-specific Kramer growth references. Associations were tested by logistic regression (OR, 95% CI) adjusted for maternal age, education, BMI, smoking, breastfeeding duration, older siblings, birth type and, in a second step, for child's current BMI World Health Organization z-score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents of children born small for gestational age (compared with appropriate gestational age) reported more often feeding difficulties and poor eating patterns (eating small quantities or needing stimulation to eat) at 4-6 months (Generation XXI: OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.40-2.94; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.14-1.62; Etude des Déterminants pre et postnatals précoces du développement et de la santé de l'ENfant OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.50-6.96), but this effect was weaker at older ages. Overall, the effects decreased, after adjustment for child's BMI, but remained significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low birth weight for gestational age was related to later difficulty in eating behaviors, primarily in the first 4-6 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal; Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: acmatos@med.up.pt.
authors.forename: Andreia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Diabetes, Obesity, and Chronic Kidney Disease over the Life Course, CESP Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, France and Université Paris Sud, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Blandine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Lauzon-Guillain
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emmett
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal; Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Elisabete
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology of Diabetes, Obesity, and Chronic Kidney Disease over the Life Course, CESP Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, France and Université Paris Sud, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marie Aline
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal; Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies