ArticlePediatrics2011
Timing of solid food introduction and risk of obesity in preschool-aged children.
Article in Pediatrics, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
159 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Risk Factors in the First 1000 Days of Life Associated With Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review and Risk Factor Quality Assessment.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Research on Non-Maternal Caregivers' Feeding of Children 0-3 Years.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Timing of Complementary Feeding, Growth, and Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Working group reports: evaluation of the evidence to support practice guidelines for nutritional care of preterm infants-the Pre-B Project.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- Systematic review of randomised controlled trials of interventions that aim to reduce the risk, either directly or indirectly, of overweight and obesity in infancy and early childhood.Maternal & child nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- The association between breastfeeding and childhood obesity: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2014Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analyses of risk factors for childhood overweight identifiable during infancy.Archives of disease in childhood · 2012Pooled it
- Trial
- Timing of Complementary Feeding in Preterm Infants and Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Infant Overweight in a High-Risk Population.Academic pediatrics · 2018Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial of a Primary Care-Based Child Obesity Prevention Intervention on Infant Feeding Practices.The Journal of pediatrics · 2016Trial
- Tools for teen moms to reduce infant obesity: a randomized clinical trial.BMC public health · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Preventing obesity in infants and toddlers in child care: results from a pilot randomized controlled trial.Maternal and child health journal · 2014Trial
- Racial and ethnic differences associated with feeding- and activity-related behaviors in infants.Pediatrics · 2014Trial
- A randomized controlled trial to prevent childhood obesity through early childhood feeding and parenting guidance: rationale and design of study.BMC public health · 2013Trial
- Nutrition Across the Life Course and Risk of Young-Onset Breast Cancer: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Prevention Opportunities.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Addressing Childhood Malnutrition in Europe: Policy Approaches to Promote Healthy Eating in Young Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Association Between the Early Introduction of Solid Food and Childhood Obesity Risk: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Contribution of clinical factors and gut microbiota composition to weight loss in a pre-post dietary intervention pilot study in male children with obesity.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2025Article
99 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association between timing of introduction of solid foods during infancy and obesity at 3 years of age.
methodsWe studied 847 children in Project Viva, a prospective pre-birth cohort study. The primary outcome was obesity at 3 years of age (BMI for age and gender ≥ 95th percentile). The primary exposure was the timing of introduction of solid foods, categorized as <4, 4 to 5, and ≥ 6 months. We ran separate logistic regression models for infants who were breastfed for at least 4 months ("breastfed") and infants who were never breastfed or stopped breastfeeding before the age of four months ("formula-fed"), adjusting for child and maternal characteristics, which included change in weight-for-age z score from 0 to 4 months-a marker of early infant growth.
resultsIn the first 4 months of life, 568 infants (67%) were breastfed and 279 (32%) were formula-fed. At age 3 years, 75 children (9%) were obese. Among breastfed infants, the timing of solid food introduction was not associated with odds of obesity (odds ratio: 1.1 [95% confidence interval: 0.3-4.4]). Among formula-fed infants, introduction of solid foods before 4 months was associated with a sixfold increase in odds of obesity at age 3 years; the association was not explained by rapid early growth (odds ratio after adjustment: 6.3 [95% confidence interval: 2.3-6.9]).
conclusionsAmong formula-fed infants or infants weaned before the age of 4 months, introduction of solid foods before the age of 4 months was associated with increased odds of obesity at age 3 years.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.