The purpose of this secondary data-analysis was to identify potential risk factors in the home at 12 months that can lead to the development of childhood overweight or obesity. Childhood obesity is a multifaceted epidemic, and is highly prevalent in low-income populations. This analysis focuses on the weight outcomes of babies at 12 months of age who are from low-income, Mexican American families. The weight and BMI of the mother, basic feeding practices, and acculturation were some of the factors that were found to have correlations with the weight of a child at 12 months. The HOME Scale was used in this data analysis, however, no significant correlations can be found at this time. Further research with children who are older than 1-year-old should be performed to determine if the HOME Inventory factors play a role in the weight outcome of a child.

This research addresses the importance of factors such as gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight of mothers, as well as obesity rates in infants born to these mothers who are included in the population of low-income Mexican-American mothers and infants enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Evaluating these factors will contribute to finding recommendations to help solve the obesity epidemic in this specific population. Breastfeeding duration, mother BMI, infant birth weight, and infant weight z-scores were statistically analyzed from a WIC population in Houston. The study participants are involved in a five year intervention study where the home environment and education on feeding practices, breastfeeding duration and obesity are evaluated. The results found that: (1) breastfeeding initially indicates a further continuation of breastfeeding; (2) mothers who breastfed for six months were likely to have a lower BMI at twelve to eighteen months than those who did not; (3) the birth weight of the infant is associated with the weight pattern of the child later; (4) the weight/height percentiles of a newborn are somewhat likely to stay the same until age three; (5) the prenatal weight of the mother impacts the weight of the newborn infant; and (6) the mother's postpartum BMI at one week is associated with a similar BMI at 12 months postpartum. In conclusion, women in this population tend to not breastfeed for 6 months and are not losing gestational weight postpartum, leading to increased wright retention after pregnancy, as well as heavier babies that will maintain this weight in early childhood. Further breastfeeding, nutrition, exercise, obesity, and proper infant feeding education are needed to reduce the rate of obesity in low-income Mexican-American WIC populations.