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Protective feeding increased healthy eating patterns in children
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Protective feeding practices by first-time mothers may support development of healthy eating and growth patterns in young children, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
“Overall, anticipatory guidance on the when, what, and how of infant feeding resulted in increased use of protective feeding practices that potentially support expanded food preferences and child self-regulation of intake, clearly indicating that maternal feeding practices are modifiable,” researchers wrote.
The NOURISH randomized controlled trial included 698 first-time mothers with healthy term infants. Participants were randomly assigned to self-directed access to usual care or to attend two six-session interactive group education modules that provided anticipatory guidance on early feeding practices. Follow-up was done 6 months after completion of second session, 20 months from baseline and when the children were aged 2 years.
Researchers found that intervention group participants reported using responsive feeding more frequently on six of nine subscales and eight of eight items (all, P<.03) and overall less controlling feeding practices (P<.001). They also reported using feeding practices to enhance food acceptance on three of four items (all, P<.01).
However, researchers did not find significant differences in anthropometric outcomes (BMI z score, P=.10) or in prevalence of overweight/obesity (17.9% control vs. 13.8% intervention).
“The 4.1% point reduction in prevalence of overweight/obesity found here translated to population level would represent an important reduction in prevalence and longer term obesity risk,” researchers wrote. “It is plausible that the extent to which protective feeding practices that focus on intrinsic determinants of eating habits, such as food preferences and appetite regulation, can confer resilience to the contemporary obesogenic environment may not manifest until the child is older.”
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by a grant from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. See the study for a full list of disclosures.
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