Stanford Infant Growth Study

Overview

The Stanford Infant Growth Study is a longitudinal study of 200 healthy children recruited from 3 newborn nurseries and followed for a minimum of 6.5 years. Children and their parents are measured twice a year in the Infant Feeding Laboratory. Measures of infant suckling, solid eating, and physical activity have been obtained periodically for all children. Eating behavior has been assessed in the Laboratory and in the home. Physical activity has been assessed using a portable microprocessor in a wristwatch device.

Goals

The project is designed to study the longitudinal development of physical activity and eating behavior, and their relationship to growth and body fatness.

Funding and Staff

The study has been funded by grants to Stanford University from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. W. Stewart Agras, M. D. is the principal investigator and Lawrence Hammer, M. D. is the project director. Irene Etter and Kim Alcade are the project's research assistants.