Search Results (2)

Background/Objectives: Early childhood is an important period when growth and adiposity patterns emerge and may persist into later childhood. Children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) face elevated obesity risk. We characterized BMI-for-age z-score (BMIz) trajectories from 24 to 60 months and their child-, caregiver-, and household-level correlates. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (ITFPS-2) public-use dataset. We analyzed 5,583 BMIz observations from 2,247 dyads; adjusted models used 4,314 observations from 1,738 children. Linear mixed-effects models tested individual, interpersonal, and household predictors. Restriction and pressure-to-eat were lagged, time-varying exposures. Results: Mean BMIz was elevated at all waves (0.46 to 0.56). Obesity prevalence rose from 15.4% to 18.5%. Unconditionally, BMIz was stable from 24 to 48 months and rose by 60 months. Adjusted models linked higher BMIz to higher birth weight, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, birth complications, maternal overweight or obesity, paternal overweight, prenatal smoking, adolescent maternal age, and lower maternal education. Male sex was associated with lower BMIz. Prior-wave restriction was associated with higher, and pressure to eat with modestly lower, subsequent BMIz. Household indicators showed no independent association. Conclusions: Caregiver and perinatal characteristics and feeding practices were the most consistent modifiable correlates of late-preschool BMIz. These observational, complete-case findings warrant caution. The 48–60-month window may be a promising period to target for WIC-based obesity prevention. Full article

Background: Maternal lack of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may increase the risk of low birth weight and preterm delivery. However, little is known about the relationship between folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and the physical development of offspring in the later stage. Objective: This study aimed to explore the association between maternal folic acid supplementation status during pregnancy and the physical development of preschool children. Methods: A total of 3064 mother–child pairs with data on maternal folic acid supplementation status during pregnancy and children’s anthropometric measurements were recruited from the Ma’anshan-Anhui Birth Cohort (MABC) in China. Maternal folic acid supplementation status during pregnancy was the main exposure, and the primary outcomes were children’s growth development trajectories. Children’s growth development trajectories were fitted using group-based trajectory models. The association between maternal folic acid supplementation status during pregnancy and children’s growth trajectories was performed using multiple logistic regression models. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that the absence of maternal folic acid supplementation before pregnancy and in the first trimester was significantly associated with a “high level” trajectory (trajectory 3) and a “high rising level” trajectory (trajectory 4) of BMI-Z scores in children 0 to 6 years of age (OR = 1.423, 95%CI:1.022–1.982; OR = 1.654, 95%CI: 1.024–2.671). In children aged 4 to 6 years old, a “high level” trajectory (trajectory 3) of body fat ratio was substantially related to maternal no folic acid supplementation before pregnancy and in the first trimester (OR = 1.833, 95%CI:1.037–3.240). No significant additional benefits associated with physical developmental indicators in preschool children have been observed with continued folic acid supplementation after the first trimester of gestation. Conclusions: Maternal non-supplementation with folic acid during pregnancy is associated with a “high level” BMI trajectory and a “high level” body fat ratio trajectory in preschool-aged children. Full article