Infant Feeding and Long-Term Outcomes: Results From the Year 6 Follow-Up of Children in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II

In 1986, the late David Barker described a link between intrauterine growth and ischemic heart disease,¹ originating a field of medical and anthropological research known as the fetal origins of health and disease. More recently, the field has expanded to also consider the long-term effects of early postnatal nutrition on long-term health, now known as the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD).² Evidence on the long-term consequences of infant diet is expanding rapidly. In this Pediatrics supplement, we present new data available from a follow-up study of children at age 6 years who were previously included in the longitudinal Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II), sponsored by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.^3,4 Not all the articles in this supplement directly address DOHaD hypotheses, but they provide additional context to understanding the longitudinal associations between...