May 12, 2009 — As the childhood obesity
epidemic in the United States continues, researchers are examining
whether early parent and child behaviors contribute to the problem. A
study from the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University,
published in the May/June 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
reports that mothers who miss signs of satiety in their infants tend to
overfeed them, leading to excess weight gains during the 6 month to 1
year period.
Ninety-six low-income black and Hispanic mothers, who chose to
formula feed exclusively, were enrolled in the study. Data was
collected during an initial interview and three home visits at 3, 6,
and 12 months. During the home visits, feedings were observed, the
mothers were interviewed, and the child’s weight was measured. Feeding
diaries were also checked for omissions or clarifications.
A number of characteristics that predicted infant weight gain from
birth to 3 months were included in the analysis. These were birth
weight, gender, race/ethnicity, maternal age, education, country of
origin, body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy, and weight gain during
pregnancy. For the 3 to 6 month period, birth weight, maternal BMI,
infant weight gain from birth to 3 months, infant length gain from
birth to 3 months, the estimated number of feeds per day, the month
that solid food was introduced, and the mothers’ sensitivity to the
infants’ signals at 3 months were included. And, finally, for the 6 to
12 month period, birth weight, maternal BMI, infant weight gain from 3
to 6 months, infant length gain from 3 to 6 months, maternal
sensitivity to infant signals at 6 months, and the estimated number of
feeds/day at 6 months were entered as the independent variables.
None of these variables served to predict infant weight gain over
the first 3 months, or similarly, from 3 to 6 months. However, the
number of feeds per day at 6 months approached significance in
predicting weight gain from 6 to 12 months, and maternal sensitivity to
the infants’ signals reached predictive significance, but in a negative
direction—indicating that mothers who were less sensitive to satiety
cues had infants who gained more weight.
Writing in the article, John Worobey, PhD; Maria Islas Lopez, MA;
and Daniel J. Hoffman, PhD, state, “More frequent feedings,
particularly with formula, are an easy culprit on which to assign
blame. But maternal sensitivity to the infant’s feeding state, as
reflected by the Feeding Scale scores, suggests that an unwillingness
to slow the pace of feeding or terminate the feeding when the infant
shows satiation cues may be overriding the infant’s ability to
self-regulate its intake.”
However, the researchers warn that, “To use this knowledge to better
inform low-income/educated mothers, indeed, mothers of any background
who have settled on a feeding method, could pose a daunting challenge.
Feeding an infant is a primal behavior, and to suggest to a new mother
that she is feeding her infant too often, too much, or worse yet, is
not very good at reading her infant’s signals, would require an
extremely skilled nurse or social worker. Giving counsel after watching
a mother feed her infant might be seen as threatening, or at the very
least meddling, and just pointing it out could be construed as an
accusation of ‘poor mothering.’”
Source : Elsevier