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theses

During infancy and early childhood there is a shift in diet from formula or being breast- fed to being exposed to a variety of foods that have unfamiliar tastes and textures. The food preferences that are developed in early childhood can predict adulthood dietary habits and have implications for developing long-term health problems, such as obesity or cardiovascular disease. It is important to understand how early childhood dietary habits can contribute to unhealthy food preferences as well as undesirable weight status. Data from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) suggests that 8.1% of infants and toddlers are obese in the United States. The prevalence of obesity is higher in low-income Hispanic and Black children than any other ethnic groups that reside in the United States. An adequate intake of fruits and vegetables consumed during early childhood has been linked to lowering the risk of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. Current research has shown that introduction to various fruits and vegetables within the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended window of 4-6 months may increase the amount and variety of these healthy foods consumed during early childhood. The objective of this thesis was to analyze data from the Rutgers Infant Nutrition and Growth (RING) Project to examine fruit and vegetable introduction within the recommended 4-6 months and its influence on later fruit and vegetable consumption and weight status in 12-month old low-income minority infants (n=96). It was found that mothers who introduced fruits earlier also introduced vegetables earlier to their infants. However, no relationship was found between the age of introduction to fruits or vegetables during infancy and total fruit or vegetable intake per day at 12-months old. Neither was a relationship found between the age of introduction to fruits or vegetables during infancy and total variety of fruit or vegetable intake at 12-months. Mothers who exposed their infants to a greater variety of fruit to consume at 12-months also gave them more variety of vegetables to consume at 12-months. Only ‘other Hispanic’ infants were having approximately two servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which meets the minimum recommended amounts. Surprisingly, infants at 12-months who were above the 85th percentile had a significantly greater total variety of fruit and vegetable intake than infants at a weight-for-length-percentile less than the 85th. Furthermore, there was no relationship found between the age of introduction to fruits or vegetables during infancy and weight-for-length-percentile status at 12-months. Further research is needed to determine if introducing fruits and vegetables early can facilitate greater intake and variety of fruits and vegetables at 12-months.

ETD_7909

M.S.

Includes bibliographical references

by Elena Santiago

doi:10.7282/T38K7D02

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.