Prolonged bottle use and its association with iron deficiency anemia and overweight: a preliminary study.
Avainsanat
Abstrakti
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-American 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.