Effect of childcare on overweight indicators and growth parameters of toddlers and pre-schoolers

Background: Children growth can be divided into; infancy, toddlers, preschoolers, middle childhood, and adolescence. Child's nutrient needs correlates with changes in growth rates. Daycare, where toddlers and preschoolers spend increasing durations nowadays, might affect children feeding habits and thus their growth. In this study, we measure overweight indicators and growth parameters among toddlers and preschoolers attending daycare. Methods: In a cross sectional analysis, we compared adiposity and anthropometric measures of 83 toddlers and preschoolers attending day care with those of 31 age peers receiving homecare. Results: Weight/height Z score and percentiles showed no significant differences between daycare and homecare children. 18.1% of daycare children and 29% of homecare children had weight/height Z score>+2 and weight/height percentile>95%. Only one child in daycare group (1.2%) and 2 children in homecare group (6.5%) had weight/height Z score<-2. Trunk /extremities ratio was significantly higher in homecare than daycare group (p value<0.001). Conclusion: While daycare does not seem to affect global nutritional status of toddlers and preschoolers, homecare children showed evidences of increased trunkal fat