Association of infant feeding with adiposity in early childhood in a WIC sample.

Objectives: To evaluate the association of different infant feeding practices with adiposity in early childhood.

Methods: Survey was conducted among 150 White, Black, and Hispanic low-income families with children ages 2–4.

Results: History of supplementing breast milk with formula (mixed feeding) was more prevalent among Hispanic children (67.4%) than either White (8.5%) or Black children (22.7%) (p<.001). African American children had the highest BMI percentile of the three groups (p=.043), although Hispanic children had slightly higher birth weight than the other two groups (p=.06). Among Hispanic children, after adjusting for confounding variables including maternal BMI, the mixed feeding group and the exclusive formula-feeding group had significantly higher BMI percentile (b=3.068 and b=2.936, respectively) than the exclusive breastfeeding group. These associations were not observed among Blacks and Whites.

Conclusion: Further research is warranted on the impact of different feeding practices during infancy on subsequent adiposity during pre-school years