THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NUTRIENT INTAKE AND DEVELOPING FOOD PATTERNS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A LONGITUDINAL APPROACH

Nutrient intake and anthropometric measurement data of children enrolled in the Western Massachusetts Growth Study (WMGS) were examined and correlated with maternal attitudinal and knowledge indices, to test the hypothesis that maternal attitudes, nutrition knowledge, and practices affected the child\u27s rate of growth. Data were obtained at 12, 18, and 24 months of age on subjects who had been enrolled in the WMGS since birth. Males were taller and heavier at all age intervals than females. Differences between sexes in weight and length measurements were significant at the .01 level. Differences between the WMGS subjects and children represented by NCHS growth data were small. Analysis of nutrient intakes showed that WMGS subjects consumed higher levels of nutrients at most age intervals than did subjects in the Child Research Council (CRC) study. Iron intakes between the two groups differed markedly; WMGS children\u27s consumption increased over the period from 12 to 24 months of age, while CRC subjects showed a decrease in iron consumption over the same time period. Vitamin C intakes of WMGS subjects were higher than those of CRC subjects at all intervals. Mother\u27s attitudes toward food additives were examined in relation to the types and frequencies of additive-containing foods fed to their children. Chi square analysis revealed few relationships between maternal attitudes and the child\u27s food consumption. In general, maternal attitudes toward food additives were poor predictors of the child\u27s food consumption behavior. Regression analysis was done to identify the strongest set of probable influences upon the child\u27s attitude toward eating. The sex and range of foods accepted by the child were shown to have an effect upon attitude toward eating. Males, in general, had less positive attitudes toward eating than did females. The more acceptant a child was toward a variety of foods, the more positive was his attitude toward eating. Path analysis was performed to determine the ways the attitudes and practices of the mother affected the child. The dependent variables in this analysis were the differences between the child\u27s actual weight and actual height at 24 months and the predicted weight and height at 24 months (as determined by regression analysis). Independent variables were those maternal attitudes and practices most highly correlated with the dependent variable. Results of analyses show that attitudes of the mother have only one direct effect upon a child\u27s weight. Permissiveness had a negative effect upon weight; the more permissive a mother was toward the child\u27s eating behavior, the more the child\u27s weight differed negatively from the predicted weight at 24 months. The mother\u27s food acceptances were shown to have a positive effect upon the child\u27s food acceptances; in turn, the child\u27s food acceptances had a positive effect upon the child\u27s weight. The greater a child\u27s acceptance of food, the greater was the difference between the child\u27s actual weight and predicted weight. No significant results were observed for the effects of maternal attitudes and practices upon the child\u27s height. Within the ranges of intake observed in this study, the level of nutrient intakes of the children could not be shown to have a measurable effect upon growth