Complementary Feeding and Child Appetitive Traits in a Sample of Hispanic Mother-Child Dyads

Abstract

Background: Complementary feeding practices may contribute to toddler eating practices that affect weight outcomes. Studies are needed to understand the relationship between complementary feeding practices and toddler dietary self-regulation.

Objective: This study tests the hypothesis that earlier complementary food introduction predicts toddler food responsiveness and emotional overeating (ie, tendency to overeat in response to food cues and emotions, respectively), and considers whether introduction of certain foods better predict toddler dietary self-regulation.

Design: This study is a secondary analysis of data from a parent longitudinal birth cohort study on early growth/development among Hispanic mother-infant dyads.

Participants/setting: The analytic sample included 174 mother-child dyads recruited from maternity clinics affiliated with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles County. Recruitment and data collection were ongoing from July 2016 to April 2020. At 1-, 6-, 12-, and 24-months postpartum, mothers reported exclusive breastfeeding duration and age of complementary food introduction via questionnaire.

Main outcome measures: Child food responsiveness and emotional overeating scores calculated from the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire at 12 and 24 months of age.

Statistical analyses performed: Separate linear mixed models with repeated measures were used to examine associations between age of complementary food introduction as a predictor of child food responsiveness or emotional overeating, controlling for infant sex, birth body mass index z score, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and mother's body mass index.

Results: In separate models, delaying complementary food introduction by 1 month was associated with a 6% reduction in food responsiveness (P = 0.007) and a 5% reduction in emotional overeating scores (P = 0.013). Fifty-eight unique combinations of complementary foods introduced first were found, precluding analyses to examine whether specific combinations were related to eating behavior outcomes due to sample size limitations.

Conclusions: Earlier complementary feeding was associated with higher food responsiveness and emotional overeating scores among Hispanic children. Future studies in larger samples are needed to characterize patterns of complementary food introduction and their influence on child self-regulation.

Keywords: Emotional overeating; Food responsiveness; Introduction to complementary foods.