{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T11:59:11Z","timestamp":1792065551073,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,5]],"date-time":"2021-04-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1617580800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Seventh Framework Programme","award":["245200"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["245200"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Complementary feeding (CF) should start between 4\u20136 months of age to ensure infants\u2019 growth but is also linked to childhood obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association of the timing of CF, breastfeeding and overweight in preschool children. Infant-feeding practices were self-reported in 2012 via a validated questionnaire by &gt;7500 parents from six European countries participating in the ToyBox-study. The proportion of children who received breast milk and CF at 4\u20136 months was 51.2%. There was a positive association between timing of solid food (SF) introduction and duration of breastfeeding, as well as socioeconomic status and a negative association with smoking throughout pregnancy (p &lt; 0.005). No significant risk to become overweight was observed among preschoolers who were introduced to SF at 1\u20133 months of age compared to those introduced at 4\u20136 months regardless of the type of milk feeding. Similarly, no significant association was observed between the early introduction of SF and risk for overweight in preschoolers who were breastfed for \u22654 months or were formula-fed. The study did not identify any significant association between the timing of introducing SF and obesity in childhood. It is likely that other factors than timing of SF introduction may have impact on childhood obesity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13041199","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,5]],"date-time":"2021-04-05T11:48:29Z","timestamp":1617623309000},"page":"1199","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Complementary Feeding and Overweight in European Preschoolers: The ToyBox-Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Natalya","family":"Usheva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Medicine and Health Care Organization, Medical University of Varna, 9002 Varna, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonya","family":"Galcheva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Varna, 9002 Varna, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4983-6557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Greet","family":"Cardon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5220-7850","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marieke","family":"De Craemer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium"},{"name":"Research Foundation Flanders, 1000 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Odysseas","family":"Androutsos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aneta","family":"Kotowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Department, Children\u2019s Memorial Health Institute, 04-730 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Piotr","family":"Socha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Department, Children\u2019s Memorial Health Institute, 04-730 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5345-7165","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Berthold","family":"Koletzko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Department Paediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children\u2019s Hospital, LMU University Hospitals, 80337 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0454-653X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis","family":"Moreno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Drinking Behaviour and Development) Research Group, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4160-1200","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Violeta","family":"Iotova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Varna, 9002 Varna, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6486-114X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yannis","family":"Manios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, 176 76 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"on behalf of the ToyBox-study Group","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2015). 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