Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106651

Emily Feinberg, Sc D, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Talbot Building - 5W, 715 Albany St, Boston, MA 02118, 617-414-3667, emily.feinberg@bmc.org, Nicole Prudent, MD, MPH, Pediatrics ACC5, Boston Medical Center, 850 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118, Mario Malivert, MD, MPH, Haitian Health Institute, 850 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118, Marie Ketly Foureau, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, 91 East Concord Street, Boston, MA 02118, and Alan F. Meyers, MD, MPH, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, 91 East Concord Street, Mat.Bldg., Rm 4205, Boston, MA 02118.

Rates of overweight among children have increased dramatically. However, little research focuses on the contribution of ethnically-specific feeding practices. We interviewed 200 mothers of Haitian and African American children ages 2-12 to examine the use of nutritional supplements given as appetite stimulants and calorie boosters. We determined overall prevalence of supplement use and conducted multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between use of supplements and ethnicity, controlling for child and maternal demographic factors. Use of supplements was extremely common in our sample of low-income, urban families. Almost half of all families used supplements to stimulate their child's appetite or help them gain weight. Haitian mothers were significantly more likely to give their children supplements (75% vs 30%, p<.001). Not surprisingly, supplement use was more prevalent among normal weight children (BMI percentile 10th- 85th) at 60% but its use among overweight children (BMI > 85th percentile) was not uncommon (40%). The most common supplements were calorie boosters, such as Pediasure and Ensure, which were used by 68% by Haitian mothers as compared to 17% of African Americans. In multivariate analyses, controlling for child age, gender, and maternal weight, ethnicity remained a strong predictor of supplement use (OR 11.03,95% CI 4.73, 25.75). Modeling the interaction between weight and ethnicity did not reveal a differential effect of ethnicity among normal weight and overweight children. Results suggest that Haitian mothers may perceive their normal weight children as being underweight and engage in feeding practices that may place them at risk for becoming overweight.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Identify common nutritional supplements used by mothers of Haitian and African American children
• Describe prevalence of supplement use based on maternal and child demographics
• Describe the relationship between use of supplements and child weight status
• Evaluate implications of study findings when addressing healthy eating habits among Haitian and African American families

Keywords: Obesity, Food and Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.