Weight is linked to daycare

Research based at Harvard University and the University of Illinoisfound that non-parental care, including by childminders or familymembers, means that an infant is less likely to be breast-fed and morelikely to start solid foods early.

The researchers assessed 8,150 infants aged nine months from the EarlyChildhood Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative cohort. Thefactors they examined were breastfeeding initiation, early introductionof solid foods (at under four months), and weight gain from birth tonine months.

Juhee Kim, co-author of the report, said, 'This study is the first toreport, to our knowledge, showing the potential importance of infantchildcare on infant nutrition and growth.'

Professor Kim, a community health professor from the University ofIllinois, said, 'More weight gain is a reflection of unwanted calorieintake. Considering the studies telling us that food consumption of USinfants and toddlers is not meeting so-called healthy eating standards,we can speculate that the quantity and quality of food consumption arequestionable. These problems start from infancy, which is a sensitiveperiod of developing food preference and obesity.'