Ethnic differences in dietary intake at age 12 and 18 months: the Born in Bradford 1000 Study

Abstract

Objective: To compare the intake of key indicator foods at age 12 months and 18 months between infants of Pakistani and White British origin. Design: Logistic regression was used to model associations between ethnicity and consumption of key indicator foods defined by high or low energy density using an FFQ at age 12 and 18 months. Setting: Born in Bradford 1000 study, Bradford, UK. Subjects: Infants (n 1259; 38 % White British, 49 % Pakistani), mean age 12·7 (SD 1·0) months and toddlers (n 1257; 37 % White British, 49 % Pakistani), mean age 18·7 (SD1·0) months. Results: At 12 months, Pakistani infants consumed more commercial sweet baby meals than White British infants, with greater odds for being above average consumers (adjusted OR (AOR) = 1·90; 95 % CI 1·40, 2·56), more chips/roast potatoes (AOR = 2·75; 95 % CI 2·09, 3·62), less processed meat products (AOR = 0·11; 95 % CI 0·08, 0·15), more fruit (AOR = 2·20; 95 % CI 1·70, 2·85) and more sugar-sweetened drinks (AOR = 1·68; 95 % CI 1·29, 2·18). At 18 months these differences persisted, with Pakistani infants consuming more commercial sweet baby meals (AOR = 4·57; 95 % CI 2·49, 8·39), more chips/roast potato shapes (AOR = 2·26; 95 % CI 1·50, 3·43), more fruit (AOR = 1·40; 95 % CI 1·08, 1·81), more sugar-sweetened drinks (AOR = 2·03; 95 % CI 1·53, 2·70), more pure fruit juice (AOR = 1·82; 95 % CI 1·40, 2·35), more water (AOR = 3·24; 95 % CI 2·46, 4·25) and less processed meat (AOR = 0·10; 95 % CI 0·06, 0·15) than White British infants. Conclusions: Dietary intake during infancy and the early toddlerhood period is associated with ethnicity, suggesting the importance of early and culturally adapted interventions aimed at establishing healthy eating behaviours. Keywords Diet Infant Ethnicity ObesityChildhood obesity is a growing problem internationally (1,2) . Within the UK, over a fifth of children starting school are overweight or obese and it is estimated that by 2020, 20 % of all boys and 33 % of all girls will be obese (3) . Although recent indications are that prevalence is levelling off in 4-to 5-year-olds in the UK, it still remains high and of concern across other ages and certain ethnic groups (4) . The prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in children of South Asian origin in the UK compared with White British children (4,5) and people of South Asian origin are also at greater risk of obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension (6) .Early childhood provides a unique opportunity to promote health and prevent obesity (7) . It has been suggested that dietary patterns emerge early (8) and track through infancy (9) into later childhood (10) and from childhood to adulthood (11) . The diet of infants and toddlers has shortand long-term implications for health and development (12) . It is therefore important to be able to characterize early-life dietary intake, including understanding the influence of ethnicity on early diet, in order to examine how early diet influences later health outcomes including weight in childhoo...

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“…Professor Sahota presented the findings of a study from BiB ( n = 1259) that compared the intake of high energy density foods at age 12 and 18 months between infants of Pakistani and White British origin (Sahota et al . ). Clear differences in infants feeding practices and dietary intake at 12 and 18 months existed between White British and Pakistani infants.…”

“…These dietary patterns tracked through to 18 months of age (Sahota et al . ). Professor Sahota emphasised that culturally appropriate approaches should be considered when promoting healthy eating patterns in infancy.…”

“…Further work is needed to establish whether there are differences in infant feeding practices in different ethnic populations and whether these may influence obesity risk in childhood. Professor Sahota presented the findings of a study from BiB (n = 1259) that compared the intake of high energy density foods at age 12 and 18 months between infants of Pakistani and White British origin (Sahota et al 2015). Clear differences in infants feeding practices and dietary intake at 12 and 18 months existed between White British and Pakistani infants.…”

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