Faculty Bibliography

Parent perception of weight and feeding styles are associated with obesity in other racial groups but have not been explored in-depth in Chinese-American preschoolers. Cross-sectional survey of 253 Chinese-American parents with preschoolers was performed in a community clinic. Regression analysis was used to assess relationships between parental perception of weight and feeding styles. Parent under-perception of weight was common but more likely in boys than girls (chi2 = 4.91, p = 0.03). Pressuring was also greater in boys [adjusted mean difference (95% CI) 0.24 (0.004, 0.49)]. In girls, pressuring was lower for children perceived as overweight [adjusted mean difference in CFQ scores -0.75 (-1.27, -0.23)]; in boys, pressuring was high regardless of perceived child weight. Weight perceptions and feeding styles related to childhood obesity in other groups were identified in Chinese-American families. Parent under-perception of child weight and pressure to eat were more common in boys. These factors should be addressed in Chinese-American preschooler obesity prevention programs.

The authors studied toddlers with low-level lead exposure to determine whether adverse developmental effects were evident. The study sample consisted of a cohort of 68 children aged 12 to 36 months who had blood lead levels lower than 25 microg/dL on a routine screening in a large urban public hospital clinic. Children with blood lead levels between 10 and 24.9 microg/dL had a mean Mental Developmental Index (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition) score that was 6.3 points lower than that of children with blood lead levels between 0 and 9.9 microg/dL (95% confidence interval: 0.6, 11.9). After adjusting for confounders, the difference was 6.2 points (95% confidence interval: 1.7, 10.8). Pediatricians and public health entities should continue in their efforts to reduce the lead burden through environmental control and ongoing surveillance