The Effects of Using Baby-Feed: A Web Application to Improve Infant Diets and Weight Gain

Authors

Jennifer Bolton, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Dietetics and Nutrition

First Advisor's Name

Cristina Palacios

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Catherine Coccia

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Vijaya Narayanan

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Jean Hannan

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Memeber

Keywords

infant feeding, nutrition assessment, food frequency questionnaire, technology, web-based, baby feed, pediatric, childhood obesity prevention, diet quality, rapid weight gain, social cognitive theory, parent self-efficacy

Date of Defense

6-28-2023

Abstract

Nutrition is a key component in early childhood obesity prevention and more tools are needed to increase healthy eating in infants. The Baby-Feed web application was developed as a tool to easily evaluate infant diets and provide immediate feedback to healthcare providers and parents. This randomized controlled trial examined using Baby-Feed as a tool to improve diet in infants, energy and nutrient intake, rate of weight gain, and parenting self-efficacy compared to usual care during well-child visits. The study was conducted among 2 healthcare providers and 50 parents with infants aged 4 to 12 months recruited from a community health center in South Florida during well-child visits. There were 25 randomized to the intervention group (access to Baby-Feed) and 25 to the control group (no access). All parents completed the online Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), had their infant’s weight and length measured, and completed the parenting self-efficacy questionnaire pre-test and post-test after 3 months. The intervention group had access to the FFQ results and discussed the nutrition recommendations with their healthcare provider. In between well-child visits, the intervention group also received weekly text messages encouraging them to use Baby-Feed on their cell phone at home. Parents in the control group received usual care. A total of 46 participants completed the study (n= 23 intervention and n= 23 control). There were no differences between groups at baseline. Most parents were mothers (92%), Hispanic (86%), participated in WIC (86%), and 54% of the infants were male. During the study, infants in the intervention group had significantly more diet improvements (mean 1.73 vs. 1.00; p= 0.018), less negative change in Diet Quality Index Score (mean -2.95 vs. -7.69; p= 0.039), and a higher proportion of healthy weight gain (95% vs. 58%; p= 0.006) compared to the control group. There were no significant differences in energy intake, nutrient intake, and parenting self-efficacy. The results indicated that using Baby-Feed for 3 months in between and during well-child visits improved diet and rate of weight gain in infants compared to usual care. These results should be confirmed in a larger-scale trial using the Baby-Feed web application.

Identifier

FIDC011101

ORCID

0000-0002-8324-9113

Previously Published In

Palacios C, Bolton J, Wang W, et al. Development and pilot testing of the Baby-Feed web application for healthcare professionals and parents to improve infant diets. Int J Med Inform. Mar 17 2023;174:105047. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105047

Recommended Citation

Bolton, Jennifer, "The Effects of Using Baby-Feed: A Web Application to Improve Infant Diets and Weight Gain" (2023). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5332.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5332