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.