Breastfeeding and Infant Nutrition Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Parents

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents about breastfeeding, complementary food, and infant nutrition who have healthy infants born at term and under 2 years of age. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among the parents of infants who came for well-child visits to pediatric clinics of 4 hospitals. Healthy infants under 2 years of age and who had been born at term were interviewed. The questionnaire included 35 questions to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitude, and practices about breastfeeding and infant nutrition in addition to sociodemographic data. Data were obtained via questionnaire and were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0 package program. Results: The study group consisted of 679 infants and their parents. The median durations of exclusive breastfeeding and total breastfeeding time were found to be 4 months and 10 months. Although 75% of the participants stated that infants must be exclusively breastfed for 6 months, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months was 44%. The 393 (58%) participants used formula for infant nutrition and 47 (12%) of those started with complementary feeding. 90% of the participants stated that formula advertisements did not affect their decision on starting formula but the rate of thinking that other people may be affected by the advertisements was 80%. Conclusion: The knowledge of parents on human milk is not insufficient but they need to be supported especially to continue exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months and appropriate complementary food during the weaning period

Insulin Resistance in Obese Children and Adolescents: HOMA−IR Cut−Off Levels in the Prepubertal and Pubertal Periods

Objective: Childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk for insulin resistance. The underlying mechanism for the physiological increase in insulin levels in puberty is not clearly understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the cut−off values for homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA−IR) in obese children and adolescents according to gender and pubertal status

Height, Weight and Body Mass Index Percentiles of Children Aged 6-14 Years Living at Moderate Altitudes

Objective: Individuals living at high altitudes are reported to have lower stature and also a smaller chest size in relation to their stature. Altitude-related hypobaric hypoxia is considered to be the major cause of these alterations in growth, but adverse socioeconomic and/or other environmental conditions may also have a role in poor growth performance. This study was undertaken to provide growth data on children and adolescents living in a moderate-altitude area in Turkey