Longitudinal associations between early child weight gain, parent feeding, child self‐regulation, and later child body mass index.

Summary: Background: Few longitudinal studies have examined associations of child weight trajectories, maternal demandingness and responsiveness during feeding, and child self‐regulation. Objective: We examined if child weight‐for‐length trajectories from 6 weeks to 2 years of age were associated wi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Pediatric Obesity Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 1 - 11
Autores principales: Perez, Marisol, Winstone, Laura K., Curci, Sarah G., Hernández, Juan C., Somers, Jennifer A., Luecken, Linda J.
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Apr2022
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Summary: Background: Few longitudinal studies have examined associations of child weight trajectories, maternal demandingness and responsiveness during feeding, and child self‐regulation. Objective: We examined if child weight‐for‐length trajectories from 6 weeks to 2 years of age were associated with maternal demandingness and responsiveness at child age 3 years old, and if maternal feeding dimensions predicted child BMI trajectories from 4.5 to 7.5 years among Mexican American children from low‐income families. Child self‐regulation was evaluated as a potential mechanism linking maternal feeding with child BMI. Method: Child (N = 322) weight and length/height were assessed at 10 timepoints from 6 weeks through 7.5 years. Mothers completed the Caregiver Feeding Style Questionnaire when the child was 3 years of age. Results: A steeper slope of weight‐for‐length z scores from 6 weeks to 2 years (indicating more rapid weight gain) was associated with less maternal demands during feeding at 3 years. More maternal demandingness at child age 3 years predicted lower child BMI at 4.5 years, but not trajectories from 4.5 to 7 years. Child self‐regulation was not associated with child BMI from 4.5 to 7.5 years. Conclusion: The findings highlight how the relationship between mothers and children during feeding can be bidirectional and potentially influenced by the developmental stage.