Introduction
Adequate childhood nutrition contributes to prevention of chronic diseases. The supplemental
foods and nutrition education provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children, a federal program serving women, infants, and children
up to age 5 years in low-income families and at nutritional risk, intend to optimize
dietary intakes. This study assesses associations between duration of the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children participation, early
feeding practices, and children's diet quality at age 3 years.
Methods
Using data collected between 2013 and 2017 from the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2,
investigators derived 4 mutually exclusive patterns of the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children participation: participation in the child's
first year only, participation into the second year, participation into the third
year, and intermittent participation across 3 years. In 2021, multivariable regression
assessed associations between these patterns, early feeding practices, and 2015 Health
Eating Index total score at age 3 years.
Results
When compared with children who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children into their third year, children who participated
in their first year only (p<0.01) had 2015 Healthy Eating Index total scores that were 3.6 points lower on a
given day. Children introduced to sugar-sweetened beverages in their first year had
scores that were 2.4 points lower than children not introduced to them in their first
2 years (p=0.03), whereas those breastfed longer exhibited a small increase in scores (p<0.01).
Conclusions
Longer participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children improves children's diets, potentially mitigating chronic disease risk.
Clinician efforts to refer at-risk families to the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children during the early childhood years are supported.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 08, 2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
