Most efforts at countering childhood obesity have targeted older children, but with little success. Dr. Leann Birch proposes that we intervene early in childhood – and reveals some promising evidence on how we can do this. She begins by describing the period of great developmental plasticity and potential in early childhood, following with the major factors contributing to the obesity epidemic. Increased gestational weight gain and infant weight are strong predictors of BMI in adolescence, leading to the idea that manipulating infant nutrition early on may reduce later obesity.
The transition period to an adult diet is an important window of opportunity for intervention. Birch presents some exciting results from her pilot study, which tested the efficacy of non-feeding soothing techniques and carefully controlled introduction of solid foods (with an emphasis on vegetables) on infant body weight. Results from this pilot study not only provide clues on how to intervene early on, but will also form the basis for a randomized controlled trial on preventing obesity in early childhood.