Maternal Feeding Practices and Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Objective: To identify maternal beliefs and practices about child feeding that are associated with the devel- opment of childhood obesity. Design: Four focus groups. One group of dietitians from the Supplemental Nutrition Program forWomen,Infants, and Children(WIC)in the Northern Kentucky Health Dis- trictand3groups ofmotherswith children enrolled inWIC. Setting: The WIC program in the Northern Kentucky Health District. Participants: FifteenWICdietitians and 14 mothers (14 to 34 years of age) with young children (12 to 36 months of age) enrolled in WIC. Results: The mothers in this study (1) believed that it was better to have a heavy infant because infant weight was the best marker of child health and successful parenting, (2) feared that their infants were not getting enough to eat, which led them to introduce rice cereal and other solid food to the diets before the recommended ages, and (3) used food to shape their children’s behaviors (eg, to reward good behavior or to calm fussiness). The mothers acknowledged that some of their child-feeding practices went against the advice of theirWICnutritionists and phy- sicians. Instead, the participants relied on their mothers as their main source of information about child feeding. Conclusions: Physicians and allied health professionals discussing childhood growth with mothers should avoid implying that infant weight is necessarily a measure of child health or parental competence. Parents who use food to satisfy their children’s emotional needs or to promote good behavior in their children may promote obesity by inter- fering with their children’s ability to regulate their own food intake. Interventions to alter child-feeding practices should include education of grandmothers.