I think another really important correlation between obesity and children in regards to infant feeding is parents not really understanding serving sizes. I do a LOT of teaching before they start solids here. I show the parents what the serving sizes are for each food group.
When I show them that the MAXIMUM serving size for infant cereal is less than a quarter of a cup total when mixing the tablespoons of cereal and formula the parents are
I even discuss it in terms of bites. "If you are giving a baby more than ten bites of cereal you will most likely be giving them too much." Their perception of a bowl of cereal is almost always three/four times as much as the max babies really need.
I show them the food guidelines I use from the food program and work with them to understand that the amounts are very small servings. I talk to them about how baby food is packaged and how feeding full jars of it is often way more than what they need for the meal. I SHOW them what an ounce of meat looks like pureed.
It really helps to give them visuals and measurements. I wish they did this at well child visits so parents would really SEE what the max amounts are especially with cereal and fruit.
I also talk to them about introducing foods and how important it is to offer the darker greens, orange, and yellow veggies. I can't tell you the number of parents I have seen go to fruit and cereal as the kids primary baby food source. Veggie and meats often end up being the least desired which can lead to feeding problems as the kid goes onto table food.
One thing that is happening now is that the cost of baby food is getting expensive enough that many parents are skipping to table food really early. I think it will become more of an issue in the very near future. Making home made baby food is cheaper but it's not the same as just smashing the adult food. The babies need the WHOLE food fruits, veggies, and meats. I think we will see a trend towards babies getting processed foods at a younger and younger age because the cost of baby food is so high and the average family is eating so much of their diet in processed foods.
The cost of formula is getting really really expensive now and this too will add to babies going onto adult processed foods before the age of one.
I know a LOT of providers and many of the experienced providers are seeing very large overweight babies in their business. I think it's something we will see even more of if we don't work to get some really good public information available and start talking to parents SPECIFICALLY about what the babies can eat and the AMOUNTS. We need to talk to them about making sure the babies HAVE formula till age one and that the baby food they DO eat needs to be real baby food and given in the reccomended amounts. We need to talk about how too much baby food can lead babies to reject their formula and breast milk and how between birth and eight months that these need to be their primary source of nutrition.
I also think we need to look at the white rice cereal and commercial yougurt specifically and see how it and the amounts that babies are getting is directly affecting obesity in young children.