Baby-led weaning in Italy and potential implications for infant development.

Baby-led weaning is an approach to complementary feeding that emphasizes an infant's ability to self-feed rather than being spoon fed, and to eat minimally-processed foods rather than puréed foods. This study aimed to investigate the variability in infant feeding practices and the possible association with developmental milestones in an Italian population. A sample of 1245 mothers of 6-12 month-old infants completed an online survey about complementary feeding and their infant's attainment of developmental milestones. Infants' eating of family food was positively related to self-feeding and to a lower consumption of puréed foods. As in previous studies in the UK and New Zealand, a baby-led weaning style was positively associated with breastfeeding, exposure to complementary foods around six months of age, earlier exposure to both finger and family foods, and higher interest in family food and shared family meals. Infants who were introduced to solid foods using a baby-led weaning approach were more likely to have met important developmental milestones; when controlling for covariates, percentage of family feeding was positively associated with sitting unsupported at an earlier age and a low spoon-feeding style was associated with crawling at an earlier age. These data suggest that baby-led weaning should be defined more comprehensively. Moreover, its potential influence on developmental domains beyond diet and eating behavior warrants future targeted exploration.

Improving body image and sexual health behaviors among college women.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a pilot test to determine if the Body Project, an eating disorder prevention program, was able to reduce risky sexual behaviors. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty college-age women ages 18-21 (in March, 2015) who endorsed both body image dissatisfaction and previous or current sexual activity. METHODS: Participants were randomized to the Body Project or psychoeducational control group, and completed baseline, post-test, and 6-month follow-up measures assessing body image concerns, eating behaviors, and sexual behaviors and attitudes. RESULTS: An intervention manipulation check demonstrated that body image variables were in expected directions, though were not significant by group. There was a significant interaction across group and time for "unanticipated sexual encounters," which decreased in the Body Project group. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study supports the feasibility of using an eating disorder prevention program to reduce other risky behaviors, specifically risky sexual behaviors.