Eating behaviours mediate link between risk factors in first 1,000 days and adiposity at 6 years

Eating behaviours have been shown to moderate the relationship between cumulated risk factors in the first 1,000 days and adiposity outcomes at 6 years of age, which underscores modifiable behavioural targets for interventions, reports a study.

Three hundred two children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort were included in this study.

Risk factors were as follows: maternal prepregnancy and paternal overweight, excessive gestational weight gain, raised fasting plasma glucose during pregnancy, short breastfeeding duration, and early introduction of solid foods. The authors computed composite risk scores reflecting the prevalence and the importance of the risk factors present.

Adiposity outcomes included child body mass index (BMI) and sum of skinfolds (SSF), while candidate eating behaviour moderators were portion size, eating rate, and energy intake during lunch and in an eating in the absence of hunger task.

Higher composite risk score predicted higher BMI z scores (B, 0.08, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.04–0.13) and larger SSF (B, 0.70 mm, 95 percent CI, 0.23–1.18) and correlated with larger self-served food portions (5.03 kcal, 95 percent CI, 0.47–9.60), faster eating rates (0.40 g/min, 95 percent CI, 0.21–0.59) and larger lunch intakes (7.05 kcal, 95 percent CI, 3.37–10.74).

Eating behaviours facilitated the association between composite risk score and adiposity. The composite risk score was not associated with SSF in children who selected smaller food portions, ate slower and consumed less energy, but was positively related with SSF among those who selected larger food portions, ate faster and consumed more energy (eating behaviour x risk score interactions: p<0.05).