Supplemented bottle feeding among low-income toddlers: Preliminary results from the Feeding Young Children Study

Background

Infants of African American and Hispanic background and of low SES are more likely to bottle feed past the age of 12 months and to be fed formula or milk mixed with various cereals and sugars (i.e. supplemented bottles). Over time, supplemented bottles may displace more varied meals, leading to a high calorie, monotonous diet. However, little evidence exists regarding the prevalence of supplemented bottles among toddlers.

Program Design/Methodology

The Feeding Young Children Study (FYCS) is a randomized controlled trial of a bottle-weaning intervention with a projected enrollment of 464 12-month-olds who are drinking more than 2 non-water bottles per day, from 2 Bronx WIC sites. FYCS collects length and weight measurements as well as 24 hour dietary recalls on 12-24 month olds at three month intervals, using the Nutrition Data Systems for Research (NDSR) multiple pass method.

Expected Results

Bottle feeding behaviors at 12, 15 and 18 months will be analyzed for the first 100 FYCS participants. Rates of supplemented bottle feedings are expected to exceed 50 percent at 15 months, and children drinking supplemented bottles are expected to have higher overall caloric intake, a greater percentage of daily calories from bottles, and decreased intake of solid foods.

Discussion

This presentation will describe bottle feeding behaviors of 100 low-income multi-ethnic toddlers and evaluate whether supplemented bottle feeding is associated with an increased risk for factors associated with adiposity such as greater caloric intake, higher body mass index, and decreased dietary variety as compared to non-supplemented bottle drinkers and those who have been weaned to cups.