Association between Dietary Practices and Growth Trajectories in Preschool Children.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the association of dietary practices with early life weight among children born in 2001 in the U.S. METHODS: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-B) is a population-based cohort followed from 9 months to Kindergarten entry (n~5000). We employed an auto-regressive cross-lagged model to assess the impacts of dietary practices on weight stability over time. We calculated age- and sex-standardized BMI z-scores using WHO growth curves. RESULTS: BMI z-scores had a stable increase over time. Later age of solid food introduction was associated with lower BMI z-score at age 2y [-0.03(-0.05,-0.004)]; having dinners more times per week with family at age 2y was associated with higher BMI z-score at 4y [0.03(0.01,0.05)]. These changes, of <0.05 BMI z-score, are small. Children with higher birthweight were introduced to solid foods at younger ages [-0.39 months(-0.45,-0.32)] and were breast fed longer [0.13 months(0.04,0.22)]. For girls, having dinner at a regular time at ages 2y and 4y was associated with lower BMI at ages 4y and 5y. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary practices in early childhood affect weight trajectories. However, these effects are small and are largely overshadowed by prior weight. Children's weight in infancy is associated with subsequent dietary practices but also small effects.

Role of country of origin and state of residence for dietary change among foreign-born adults in the US.

Place of origin and place of current residence may shape migrants' health-related behaviors. Using the nationally-representative US New Immigrant Survey (n = 7930), we examined associations between country of origin, state of residence, and dietary changes among foreign-born adults. 65% of migrants reported dietary change since immigration (mean score = 7.3; range = 1-10); 6% of the variance was explained by country of origin characteristics; 1.6% by US state of residence; 1.4% by their interaction. Country of origin factors, specifically availability of animal source foods and sweets, were associated with dietary change, availability of sweets also including greater abandonment of specific foods and adoption of others.

Weight patterns among mother-child pairs in the Middle East and North African Region.

AIM: We aim to evaluate weight status in mother-child household pairs and patterns specific to over-nutrition households and double burden households. METHODS: We used nationally representative data from the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (2001-2014) in the Middle East & North African (MENA) Region (n = 45,104) to examine weight status of mother-child dyads. Under-nutrition households were defined as mothers with underweight and children with wasting; over-nutrition households as mothers with overweight/obesity and children with overweight; and double burden households as mothers with underweight and children with overweight or mothers with overweight/obesity mother and children with wasting. Survey-adjusted multinomial logistic regression were used to quantify predictors of weight patterns. RESULTS: Across the MENA region, 8.6% of households were experiencing double burden malnutrition, 11% were experiencing over-nutrition and 0.2% were experiencing under-nutrition. Wealthier households with older mothers, higher birth-order children, more educated parents and private water access were more likely to be over-nutrition or double burden households. Compared to over-nutrition households, double burden households were poorer and more likely to have a child with low birthweight. CONCLUSIONS: Over-nutrition is the most common unhealthy weight pattern, followed by double-burden; socioeconomic status and birth weight are consistent predictors of unhealthy mother-child pairs.