Thesis abstract:

Dental caries and rapid weight gain in early childhood share underlying factors, including overfeeding of infant formula, inappropriate infant bottle feeding practices, and exposure to free sugars. Interventions have been trialed to prevent both conditions, but there is little evidence as to whether risk of dental caries or excess weight are of more concern to parents, and therefore more likely to result in changes in infant feeding practices. An intervention that addresses both these risk factors may resonate with parents and therefore help prevent the development of early childhood caries and childhood overweight and obesity. Both dental caries and excess weight in infants are more common in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage; as such, this intervention will aim to reduce inequities in infant and toddler health.

To inform the design of a pilot intervention, this research proposal outlines three studies:

1) An integrative review on interventions that have been undertaken to support best-practice formula feeding or bottle feeding in infants and children, in order to identify the impact these interventions had on formula and bottle feeding practice;

2) Secondary analysis of Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids longitudinal birth cohort data, to
investigate formula and bottle feeding practices and its relationship with overweight,
obesity and dental caries;

3) Co-design with both child and family health nurses and parents an intervention to prevent overweight, obesity and dental caries in early childhood, informed by findings of Studies 1 and 2

which will enable the

4) The trial of an intervention in a pilot study in Sydney Local Health District and South Western Sydney Local Health District in New South Wales.