Early child care and adiposity at ages 1 and 3 years

BACKGROUND—The majority of infants in the United States are in non-parental child care, yet little is known about the effect of child care on development of obesity. OBJECTIVE—To examine the relationship between child care attendance from birth to 6 months and adiposity at 1 and 3 years of age. METHODS—We studied 1138 children from a prospective cohort of pregnant women and their offspring. The main exposure was time in child care from birth to 6 months of age, overall and by type of care: (1) child care center; (2) someone else’s home; and (3) child’s own home by nonparent. The main outcomes were weight-for-length (WFL) z score at 1 year and BMI z score at 3 years of age. RESULTS—A total of 649 (57%) infants attended child care; 17 % were cared for in a center, 27 % in someone else’s home, and 21 % in their own home by a nonparent. After adjustment for confounders, overall time in child care was associated with an increased WFL z score at 1 year and BMI z score at 3 years of age but not skinfold thicknesses. Center and own home care were not associated with the outcomes, but care in someone else’s home was associated with a