To determine the prevalence of prolonged bottle feeding practices in young children, and its association with body mass index (BMI) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA), we conducted a cross-sectional survey study at 3 Bronx, NY, WIC sites. Caregivers of 95 predominantly Hispanic and African-Arnerican WIC-enrolled children aged 18-56 months presenting for recertification completed questionnaires. Half were overweight (>85th% BMI) and 36% were obese (>95th% BMI); 21% met CDC criteria for anemia. Two thirds (63%) received daily bottles of milk or sweet liquids. Daily bottle use ranged from 3 to 10 (mean=3.3, median=3). Bottle use was significantly associated with obesity (>95th% BMI, p<0.0005), not significant with overweight (>85th% BMI, p<0.06) and statistically significant with IDA.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1. Bruerd B, Jones C. Preventing baby bottle tooth decay: eight year results. Pub Health Rep. 1996;111:63-65.
2.
2. SerwintJR, Mungo R, Negrete VF, et al. Child rearing practices and nursing caries. Pediatrics. 1993;92:233-237.
4. Hammer LD, Bryson S, Agras WS. Development of feeding practices in the first 5 years of life. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:189-194.
5.
5. Avery A. Baxter A. 'Change to cup': an audit to determine parental awareness and practices in changing from bottle to cup. J Hum Nutr Dietetics. 2001;14:217-223.
6.
6. Graham EA, Carlson TH, Sodergren KK, et al. Delayed bottle weaning and iron deficiency in Southeast Asian toddlers. West JMed. 1997;167:10-14.
7.
7. Lampe JB, Velez N. The effect of prolonged bottle feeding on cow's milk intake and iron stores at 18 months of age. Clin Pediatr1997;36:569-571.
8.
8. Frazier JP, Countie D, Elerian L. Parental barriers to weaning infants from the bottle. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;15:889-892.
9.
9. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2nd ed.Screening for iron deficiency anemia-including iron prophylaxis. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 1996.
10.
10. Owen GM, Yanochik-Owen A. Should there be a different definition of anemia in black and white children?Am J Public Health. 1977;67:865-866.
11.
11. Dallman PR, Barr GD, Allen CM, Shinefield HR. Hemoglobin concentration in white, black, and Oriental children: is there a need for separate criteria for screening in anemia?Am J CGin Nutr1978;31:377-380.
12.
12. Perry GS, Byers T, Yip R, Margen S. Iron nutrition does not account for the hemoglobin differences between blacks and whites. J Nutr1992;122:1417-1424.
13.
13. Yip R, Parvanta I, Cogswell ME, et al. Recommendations to prevent and control iron deficiency in the United States. MMWR. 1998;47(RR-3):1-29.
14.
14. National Center for Health Statistics in collaboration with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2000). http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts.
15.
15. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 91-50212.
16.
16. Bundred P, Kitchiner D, Buchan I. Prevalence of overweight and obese children between 1989 and 1998: population based series of cross sectional studies. Br Medj. 2001:322-326.
17.
17. Dietz W, Robinson T. Use of the body mass index (BMI) as a measure of overweight in children and adolescents.J Pediatr: 1998;132:191-193.
18.
18. United States Department of Agriculture. FNS Instruction 800-1. WIC Program-General Administratrion: Confidentiality. March 30, 1990.
19.
19. Story M, Holt K, Sofka D (eds). Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition (2nd ed.). US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, 2000.
20.
20. Vobecky JS, Vobeckyj, Shapcott D, Demers PP. Nutrient intake patterns and nutritional status with regard to relative weight in early infancy. Am J Clin Nutr: 1983;38:730-738.
21.
21. Harsha DW, Smoak CG, Nicklas TA, et al. Tracking of body composition variables. Pediatrics. 1987;80:779-783.
22.
22. Rolland-Cachera MF, Deheeger M, Guilloud-Bataille M, et al. Tracking the development of adiposity from one month of age to adulthood. Ann Hum Biol. 1987;14:219-229.
23.
23. Garn SL, Lavelle M. Two-decade follow-up of fatness in early childhood. Am JDis Child. 1985;139:181-185.
24.
24. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance, 1997 Full Report. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centeres for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998.
25.
25. Looker AC, Dallman PR, Carroll MS, et al. Prevalence of iron deficiency in the United States. JAMA. 1997;277:973-976.
26.
26. Third Report on Nutrition Monitoring in the US. Bethesda, MD: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Life Sciences Research Office; 1995:2.
27.
27. Walter T, Kovalsky J, Sekel A. Effect of mild iron deficiency anemia on infant mental development scores. J Pediatr1983;102:519-522.
28.
28. Lozoff B, Brittenham GM, Wokf AW, et al. Iron deficiency anemia and iron therapy: effects on infant developmental test performance. Pediatrics. 1987;79:981-985.
29.
29. Politt E. Iron deficiency and cognitive function. Ann Rev Nutr1993;13:521-537.
30.
30. Lozoff B, Jiminez E, Wolf AW. Longterm developmental outcomes of infants with iron deficiency. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:687-694.
31.
31. Halterman JS, Kaczorowski JM, Aligne A, et al. Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. 2001;107:1381-1386.
32.
32. AAP Committee on Nutrition. The use of whole cow's milk in infancy. Pediatrics. 1992;84:1105-1109.
33.
33. Gleerup A, Rossander-Hulthen L, Gramatkovski E, Hallberg L. Iron absorption from the whole diet: comparison of the effect of two different distributions of daily calcium intake. Am J Clin Nutr1995;61:97-104.
34.
34. Eden AN, Mir MA. Iron deficiency in 1-to 3-year old children: a pediatric failure. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:986-988.
35.
35. Burstein NR, Fox MK, Hiller JB, et al. WIC General Analysis Project: Profile of WIC Children. March 2000. USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Alexandria, Va.
