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Maternal nutrition, infants and children

Family and infant characteristics associated with timing of core and non-core food introduction in early childhood

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 652–657 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

To identify family and infant characteristics associated with timing of introduction of two food types: core foods (nutrient-dense) and non-core foods (nutrient-poor) in a population-based sample of mothers and infants.

Subjects/Methods:

Participants were 1861 mothers and infants from the Gemini twin birth cohort (one child per family). Family and infant characteristics were assessed when the infants were around 8 months old. Timing of introducing core and non-core foods was assessed at 8 and 15 months. As the distributions of timing were skewed, three similar-sized groups were created for each food type: earlier (core: 1–4 months; non-core: 3–8 months), average (core: 5 months; non-core: 9–10 months) and later introduction (core: 6–12 months; non-core: 11–18 months). Ordinal logistic regression was used to examine predictors of core and non-core food introduction, with bootstrapping to test for differences between the core and non-core models.

Results:

Younger maternal age, lower education level and higher maternal body mass index were associated with earlier core and non-core food introduction. Not breastfeeding for at least 3 months and higher birth weight were specifically associated with earlier introduction of core foods. Having older children was specifically associated with earlier introduction of non-core foods.

Conclusions:

There are similarities and differences in the characteristics associated with earlier introduction of core and non-core foods. Successful interventions may require a combination of approaches to target both food types.

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Acknowledgements

The Gemini Study was funded by a grant from Cancer Research UK to Professor Wardle (C1418/A7974). Cancer Research UK had no role in the design and conduct of the study, collection, management, analysis and interpretation of data, and preparation, review or approval of the manuscript. We thank Dr David Boniface and Dr Chloe Taylor for their statistical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, London, UK

    S Schrempft, C H M van Jaarsveld, A Fisher & J Wardle

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  1. S Schrempft
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  2. C H M van Jaarsveld
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Correspondence to J Wardle.

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Schrempft, S., van Jaarsveld, C., Fisher, A. et al. Family and infant characteristics associated with timing of core and non-core food introduction in early childhood. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 652–657 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.63

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