RESUMEN
Objective To explore the relationship between infant feeding practices and infants growth,especially the weight gain for length in the first 6 months of life. Methods Two-hundred healthy full-term singlet normal birth weight 5 - 6 months old infants and their main care givers were recruited in Kongjiang community health service center in Shanghai. The questionnaires included infants feeding pattern, feeding environment and care givers feeding behaviors, and were completed on-site by investigators. The birth weight was obtained. The weight and length of infants at 6 months were measured. Results There were 70/200 (35.0%) infants overweight (BMI for age Z score>+1) at 6 months. There were more overweight boys than girls (40.0% vs. 30.9%, x2 = 1.798, P = 0.180). Compared with normal weight infants, the overweight infants had same birth weight (3.30 ± 0.35 kg vs. 3.35 ± 0.32 kg, t =1.010, P = 0.314) and same length at 6 months (67.64 ± 2.10 cm vs. 67.91 ± 1.97 cm, t=- 0.896, P = 0.371). However, the overweight infants gained much more weight for length in the first six months of life. At 6 months, the weight and BMI of overweight infants was significantly higher than that of normal weight infants (9.16 ± 0.67 vs. 7.94 ±0.64, t = 12.324, P 0.05). The grandparents played an important role in infants feeding in Shanghai. There were 39.0% infants fed only by grandparents, and 23.0% infants fed jointly by grandparents and parents (x2 = 0.175, P > 0.05).The care givers' educational level and knowledge of feeding skill were similar in overweight and normal weight infants (x2 = 0.446, t = 0.949, P > 0.05). However, the overweight infants were fed more quickly than normal weight infants (Z = 2.753, P < 0.01), and there was less language communication between care givers and overweight infants during feeding (Z = 2.932, P < 0.01). In overweight infants, the overfeeding behaviors of care givers were positively correlated with BAZ (r = 0.281, P < 0.05). Conclusions Overweight in early life is associated with some particular infants feeding behaviors of care givers in Shanghai. The long term effect of more rapid weight gain for length in the first 6 months of life on the risk of childhood obesity warranted to be further followed and researched.