This document provides a literature review of 14 studies related to infant feeding behaviors and early childhood obesity prevention. The studies examined factors like maternal physical activity, pre-pregnancy BMI, breastfeeding duration, introduction of solids, screen time, childcare characteristics, parental influences, and built environmental factors in relation to infant weight gain and risk of obesity. Methodologies included prospective cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, questionnaires, food records, accelerometers, and statistical analysis. Overall, the research sought to understand influences on infant diet and activity patterns in order to inform obesity prevention strategies.

1. Infancy Feeding Behaviors Literature Review
Chu,L., Retnakaran,R.,Zinman,B.,Hanley,A.J. G., & Hamilton,J.K.(2012). Impactof maternal physical
activityandinfantfeedingpracticesoninfantweightgainandadiposity. InternationalJournalof
Endocrinology, 2012, 1-9. doi:10.1155/2012/293821
The aim of the studywasto determine how maternal physical activity,maternalinsulin
sensitivity,prepregnancyBMI,infantfeedingpractices(breastfeedingduration,age of
introductionof formulaandcomplementaryfoods),andscreentime contribute toinfantweight
gainand adiposityat1 yearof age. In a prospective cohortstudy,mothersunderwenttesting
duringpregnancytoassessglucose tolerance statusandinsulinsensitivity.Anthropometryand
questionnairesonphysical activity,infantfeeding,andscreentime were completed.The impact
of maternal andinfantfactorson infantweightgainandweight-for-lengthz-score at1 year was
determinedusingmultiple-linearregression.
Harvey-Berino,J.,&Rourke,J.(2003). Obesitypreventioninpreschool native-americanchildren:A pilot
studyusinghome visiting. Obesity Research, 11(5),606-611. doi:10.1038/oby.2003.87
The study soughtto determinewhethermaternal participationinanobesityprevention plus
parentingsupportinterventionismore effective inreducingthe prevalence of obesityinhigh-
riskNative-Americanchildrenthana parentingsupport-onlyintervention. Baselineandendof
treatmentassessmentsincludedweightandheight,dietaryintake (3-dayfoodrecords),physical
activity(measuredbyaccelerometers),parental feedingstyle (ChildFeedingQuestionnaire),and
maternal outcome expectations,self-efficacy,andintentiontochange dietandexercise
behaviors.The resultsindicate that childreninthe obesitypreventiongroupgainedlessweight
overthe course of the interventionthanthose inthe parentingsupportintervention.
Hesketh,K.D.,Campbell,K.,Salmon,J.,McNaughton,S.A.,McCallum, Z.,Cameron,A...Crawford,D.
(2013). The melbourne infantfeeding,activityandnutritiontrial (InFANT) programfollow-
up. Contemporary ClinicalTrials, 34(1), 145-151. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2012.10.008
The study isa follow-upevaluationof the MelbourneInfantFeeding,ActivityandNutritionTrial
(InFANT) Program,whichisacommunity-based,cluster-randomizedcontrolledtrial of an
obesitypreventioninterventiondeliveredtofirst-timeparentsof infantsfromage 4 – 20
months. Researcherswillcollectdataat 2 and 3.5 years postintervention.Duringdatacollection
viaat home visits,parentquestionnaireswill be completed/collected.Unscheduleddietary

2. recallswill be conductedaftercompletionof the home visits. Keyoutcomemeasuresinclude:
anthropometrydata(height,weight,andwaistcircumference);measurementof physical
activityandsedentarybehaviorsthroughthe use of ActiGraphaccelerometersandactivPAL
monitors (containaninclinometer)bothwornfor8 consecutive days andindirectlybyparental
report;measurementof dietaryintakeandeatingbehaviorsusingthe 24-hourrecall method;
and assessmentof mediatorsandmoderatorsviaparentquestionnaires.
Hinkley,T.,Salmon,J.,Hesketh,K.,Okely,T.,& Crawford,D.(2010). Characterising preschoolchildren's
physical activity:The HAPPYstudy. Journalof Scienceand Medicine in Sport, 12, e169-e169.
doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2009.1
The study examinesthe variousinfluencesonpreschool children’sphysicalactivityincluding
parental,social,childcare,andneighborhoodfactors.Parentscompletedquestionnairesabout
theirchild’sactivitiesandpotential influences,andchildrenwore anaccelerometerfor8 days.
The resultssuggestthatyoungchildrenspendalarge amountof time beingsedentary,butthat
parental educationhadnoinfluenceonchildren’sactivitylevels.
Horodynski,M.A.,Olson,B.,Baker,S., Brophy-Herb,H.,Auld,G.,VanEgeren,L... Singleterry,L.(2011).
Healthybabiesthroughinfant-centeredfeedingprotocol:Aninterventiontargetingearly
childhoodobesityinvulnerablepopulations. BMCPublicHealth,11(1),868-868.
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-868
The HealthyBabiestrial aimsto determinethe effectivenessof acommunity-basedrandomized
controlledtrial of anin-home interventionwitheconomicallyandeducationallydisadvantaged
mother-infantpairs.The intervention,basedonthe theoryof plannedbehavior,isbeing
conductedduringthe infant’sfirst6monthsof life inordertopromote healthytransitionto
solids.Mainmaternal outcomesinclude:maternal responsiveness,feedingstyle,andfeeding
practices.The maininfantoutcome isinfantgrowthpattern.The interventionwasdeveloped
and refinedbasedonapilotproject,the InfantFeedingSeries
Kim,J.,& Peterson,K.E. (2008). Associationof infantchildcare withinfantfeedingpracticesandweight
gainamong US infants.Archivesof Pediatrics&AdolescentMedicine, 162(7), 627-633.
doi:10.1001/archpedi.162.7.627

3. The study consideredthe effectsof infant childcare characteristics(age atinitiation,typesand
intensity)onbreastfeeding,earlyintroductionof solidfoods,andweightgainbyusinga
nationallyrepresentative sampleof infantsenrolledinthe EarlyChildhoodLongitudinalStudy,
BirthCohort.Researchersmeasuredeachinfant’slengthandweightat9 monthsof age and
administeredaparentsurveyquestionnaire duringahome visit. A cross-sectional analysisof the
data collectedbythe US Departmentof Education,National CenterforEducation Statistics was
performed.
Lande,B., Andersen,L.F.,Henriksen,T.,Baerug,A.,Johansson,L.,Trygg,K.U.. . Veierød,M.B. (2005).
Relationsbetweenhighponderal indexatbirth,feedingpracticesandbodymassindex in
infancy. European Journalof Clinical Nutrition,59(11),1241-1249. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602235
Lande et al used data collected from a large national infant dietary survey to compare feeding
practicesduringthe firstyearof life between infants of high ponderal index (PI) and infants of
normal PI at birth. Parentscompletedasemiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire around
6 monthsof age andalso one around12 monthsof age. The SFFQs alsoprovidedinformationon
the mother’s and father’s educational levels, gestational age of infant at birth, number of
children the mother had, maternal employment status, and maternal smoking status. More
detaileddescriptionsof the SFFQs can be found in other publications: Andersen et al, 2003 and
Lande et al, 2003, 2004 (citationsbelow). Researchers also examined how birth size and infant
feeding practices were related to BMI at 12 months of age.
o Andersen,L.F.,Lande,B.,Arsky,G. H., & Trygg, K. (2003). Validationof asemi-
quantitative food-frequencyquestionnaire usedamong12-month-old
Norwegian infants. European Journalof ClinicalNutrition, 57(8), 881-888.
doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601621
o B, L., L, A.,A, B.,K, T., K,L., M, V.,& G-E.A,B. (2003). Infantfeedingpracticesand
associatedfactorsinthe firstsix monthsof life: The norwegianinfantnutrition
survey. ActaPaediatrica, 92(2),152-161.
doi:10.1111/j.16512227.2003.tb00519.x
o Lande,B., Andersen,L.F.,Veierød,M.B.,Bærug,A., Johansson,L.,Trygg,K. U., &
Bjørneboe,G.A.(2004). Breast-feedingat12 monthsof age anddietaryhabits
amongbreast-fedandnon-breast-fedinfants. PublicHealth Nutrition, 7(4),495-
503. doi:10.1079/PHN2003550
Redsell,S.A.,Atkinson,P.,Nathan,D.,Siriwardena,A.N.,Swift,J.A.,& Glazebrook,C.(2010). Parents'
beliefsaboutappropriate infantsize,growthandfeedingbehaviour:Implicationsforthe

4. preventionof childhoodobesity. BMCPublicHealth,10(1), 711-711. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-
711
The study exploredparents’beliefsinregardtotheirinfant’ssize,growthandfeedingbehavior
and parental receptivenesstoearlyinterventionaimedatreducingthe riskof childhoodobesity.
Participantscompletedaquestionnaire detailingdemographicdetailsandethnicity,information
aboutfamilysize,infantfeedinghistory,parental weightandheight.Datafromthe
questionnaire wasanalyzedusingSPSSsoftware. Focusgroupswere alsoconducted following
the guidelinespresentedbyKruegerandcolleagues(citationbelow). Transcribedfocusgroups
were enteredintoNVIVO8.0.
o KruegerR,CaseyM, (Eds.):Focusgroups:A practical guide forappliedresearch.2000,
Sage Publications,London
Robinson,S.,Marriott,L., Poole,J.,Crozier,S.,Borland,S.,Lawrence,W...The SouthamptonWomen's
SurveyStudy Group.(2007). Dietarypatternsininfancy:The importance of maternal andfamily
influencesonfeedingpractice. British Journalof Nutrition, 98(5),1029-1037.
doi:10.1017/S0007114507750936
Researchersdescribeddietarypatternsof infantswhowere born towomeninthe Southampton
Women’s Survey (SWS) between 1999 and 2003. Diet was assessed at 6 and 12 months using
FFQs they constructed from various sources of dietary information including: Gregory et al.,
1995; Marriott et al., 2003; and Robinson et al., 2004 (citations listed below). They used
principal componentsanalysis(PCA) to identify important patterns of diet at these ages, while
also considering maternal and family factors related to these patterns. Such factors include
details of mother’s age, number of children, educational attainment, time spent watching
television and lifestyle (i.e. smoking status, diet). Stata 9∙0 was used to perform a statistical
analysis of the data.
o GregoryJR, CollinsDL,DaviesPSW,HughesJM& Clarke PC(1995) NationalDiet and
Nutrition Survey:Children Aged 1·5 to 4·5 Years. London:H.M. StationeryOffice.
o Marriott LD, Foote KD, BishopJA,KimberAC&Morgan JB (2003) Weaningpreterm
infants:a randomisedcontrolledtrial. Arch DisChild Fetal NeonatalEd 88,
F302–F307.
o RobinsonS,CrozierSR,BorlandSE, HammondJ, BarkerDJP & InskipHM(2004) Impact
of educational attainmentonthe qualityof youngwomen’sdiets. EurJClin Nutr
58, 1174–1180.

5. Sallis,J.F.,& Glanz,K. (2006). The role of builtenvironmentsinphysicalactivity,eating,andobesityin
childhood. TheFutureof Children, 16(1), 89-108. doi:10.1353/foc.2006.0009
Sherwood,N.E.,JaKa,M. M., Crain,A. L.,Martinson,B. C., Hayes,M. G., & Anderson,J.D. (2015).
PediatricprimaryCare–Basedobesitypreventionforparentsof preschool children:A pilot
study. Childhood Obesity(Print), 11(6),674-682. doi:10.1089/chi.2015.0009
The aim of thispilotstudywas toevaluate the HealthyHomes/HealthyKidsPreschool program.
Baseline and6-monthdatawere collected,includingmeasuredparentandchildheightand
weight,accelerometry(ActiGraphGT3Xaccelerometers),previousdaydietaryrecalls,and
parentsurveys. The studyshowsthe potential efficacyinalreadyoverweightchildrenof a
primarycare – basedobesitypreventionintervention.
Thompson,A.L. (2012). Developmental originsof obesity:Earlyfeedingenvironments,infantgrowth,
and the intestinal microbiome. American Journalof Human Biology, 24(3),350-360.
doi:10.1002/ajhb.22254