The influence of early and current feeding practices, eating behaviors, and screen time on dietary patterns in Polish toddlers - A cross-sectional study.

Early nutrition has an important influence on a child's proper health and development, and understanding factors that may be related to desirable dietary patterns is key to improving the diet of future generations. The aim of this study was to assess whether early and current feeding practices, eating behaviors, and screen time viewing are associated with toddlers' dietary patterns. A cross-sectional sample of 467 mothers of toddlers (aged 1 year to 3) was surveyed between 2020 and 2022. Food consumption was evaluated by the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The k-means algorithm was used to define dietary patterns on the basis of data collected from the FFQ and mealtime environment patterns, based on the data about practices during meals consumption. The odds of following a prohealth dietary pattern among early feeding factors were lower when infants ate commercial complementary foods more often. Distracted mealtime environment pattern increased the odds of following a non-eaters pattern, and commercial complementary foods pattern increased the odds of following a processed pattern. Currently, the odds of following a processed dietary pattern were higher when children were not breastfed and had higher screen time. Toddlers who ate during distraction and were more fussy had lower odds of following a prohealth dietary pattern, whereas higher enjoyment of food and satiety responsiveness increased the odds. The results indicate the need to increase parents' awareness about the importance of early factors in establishing dietary patterns.

Early Feeding Factors and Eating Behaviors among Children Aged 1-3: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Early nutrition plays a crucial role not only in providing essential nutrients for proper child development, but may also be an important step in creating desirable eating behaviors, which can be transmitted into adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess possible links between early feeding factors, such as breastfeeding, complementary feeding (timing and method) as well as types of complementary foods and mealtime environment during the first three months of complementary feeding and eating behaviors in children aged 1-3 years old. This cross-sectional, online survey involved 467 mothers of toddlers aged 1-3 years old from the whole of Poland. The questionnaire consisted of questions about early feeding and the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). The adjusted linear regression model revealed that longer duration of any breastfeeding was negatively related to enjoyment of food (EF), desire to drink (DD) and positively related to satiety responsiveness (SR) and slowness in eating (SE) subscales. Moreover, offering homemade complementary foods more often than commercial may be related to higher SR. Eating meals during distraction seems to be negatively associated with EF, and positively with DD and SE subscales. Our study highlights possible links between early feeding factors and toddlers' eating behaviors, so further investigation, also including dietary factors, is needed.

Maternal Diet, Nutritional Status, and Birth-Related Factors Influencing Offspring's Bone Mineral Density: A Narrative Review of Observational, Cohort, and Randomized Controlled Trials.

There is growing evidence that bone health may be programmed in the first years of life. Factors during the prenatal period, especially maternal nutrition, may have an influence on offspring's skeletal development and thus the risk of osteoporosis in further life, which is an increasing societal, health and economic burden. However, it is still inconclusive which early life factors are the most important and to what extent they may affect bone health. We searched through three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library) and after eligibility criteria were met, the results of 49 articles were analyzed. This narrative review is an overall summary of up-to-date studies on maternal diet, nutritional status, and birth-related factors that may affect offspring bone development, particularly bone mineral density (BMD). Maternal vitamin D status and diet in pregnancy, anthropometry and birth weight seem to influence BMD, however other factors such as subsequent growth may mediate these associations. Due to the ambiguity of the results in the analyzed studies, future, well-designed studies are needed to address the limitations of the present study.

The Use of Added Salt and Sugar in the Diet of Polish and Austrian Toddlers. Associated Factors and Dietary Patterns, Feeding and Maternal Practices.

Children aged <2 years should not be given meals with the addition of salt and sugar due to health risks and to promote healthier dietary habits. The aims of this study were: to assess the prevalence of the use of added salt (AS), sugar (ASu) and both salt and sugar (AS&Su) in the diets of Polish and Austrian toddlers aged 12-24 and 25-36 months; to explore the sociodemographic and early nutritional factors associated with the use of AS and ASu; to investigate the difference in dietary habits and maternal concerns about toddlers' eating regarding the use of AS and ASu in toddlers' diet. This cross-sectional anonymous study was conducted in 5893 mothers of children aged 12-36 months, recruited through social media in 2017-2019. The questionnaire consisted of questions about sociodemographics, early feeding practices and current children's nutrition (e.g., use of AS and ASu, food frequency questionnaire). Multivariate logistic regression and cluster analyses were applied. Austrian mothers more often used AS than mothers from Poland (at 2 years old: 74.8% vs. 52.8%; at 3 years old 87.4% vs. 74.4%, p ≤ 0.001), however Polish mothers were more prone to use ASu (at 2 years old: 34.7% vs. 27.7%; at 3 years old: 59.0% vs. 45.8%, p ≤ 0.001). In younger toddlers (12-24 months), the odds of using of AS, ASu, and AS&Su increased with toddlers' age, when the mother was a multipara, was not currently breastfeeding, or had exclusively breastfed for 4-5 months. This risk decreased when older toddlers (25-36 months) were introduced to solids by baby-led weaning (BLW). Toddlers from both countries who consumed meals with AS or ASu more often a followed Western-like dietary pattern. Our study emphasizes the need for parental nutritional education when beginning to introduce solid foods.

Factors Influencing the Age of Complementary Feeding-A Cross-Sectional Study from Two European Countries.

The timing of introducing complementary feeding affects nutritional status and children's health. The aim of this study was to determine sociodemographic and birth-related factors associated with the age of introducing complementary foods. This cross-sectional study investigated parents (n = 5815) of children aged 12-36 months from Poland (n = 4065) and Austria (n = 1750) using a single online questionnaire. During the study, detailed data about sociodemographic characteristics, variables related to pregnancy, and early feeding practices were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate factors associated with the introduction of complementary feeding before 4 completed months, between 4 and 6 months, and after 6 completed months separately for both countries. Complementary foods were introduced before 4 months in 3.0% of infants (2.4% in Poland and 4.3% in Austria), between 4 and 6 months in 65.0% (60.5% in Poland and 75.3% in Austria), and after 6 completed months in 32.1% of infants (37.1% in Poland and 20.4% in Austria). The factors related to earlier introduction of complementary feeding were lower maternal age (in Austria 25-29 years: aOR 2.21 (95% CI 1.06-4.65)) and education level (in Poland and Austria primary and vocational: aOR 14.49 (95% CI 3.73-56.35), aOR 2.13 (95% CI 1.10-4.11), respectively), preterm birth (in Poland and Austria: aOR 10.21 (95% CI 5.73-18.20); aOR 4.45 (95% CI 2.42-8.18), respectively), never breastfeeding (Poland: aOR 2.73 (95% CI 1.29 - 5.76)) and receiving an infant formula after hospital discharge (in both countries: aOR 3.73 (95% CI 2.06-6.75); aOR 3.65 (95% CI 1.87-7.12), respectively). These factors should be taken into account by health professionals in identifying mothers who are least likely to follow nutritional recommendations.