Preventing Childhood Obesity Through Early Guidance

The goal of this study is to compare the effectiveness of structured CHW- provided home visits, using an intervention created through community-based participatory research, to standard care received through WIC office visits in preventing the development of overweight (weight/length \>85th percentile) and obesity (weight/length \>95th percentile) in infants during their first 2 years of life. Hypothesis 1: Children in the intervention group will remain within their growth centiles in height/weight and weight for age, while children in the control group will increase in height/weight percentiles and weight percentiles more rapidly (\> .67 SD) during the first year of life. Hypothesis 2: Fewer children who receive the intervention will have BMI \>95th percentile at ages 2 and 3 than the children in the control group. Hypothesis 3: Children who receive the intervention will exclusively breastfeed for a longer period of time than will children in the control group. Hypothesis 4: Children who receive the intervention will have a higher percentage of fruits and vegetables and a lower percentage of sweetened beverages, desserts, and candy in their diets at ages 1, 2, and 3, than will children in the control group. Hypothesis 5: Parents in the intervention group will be more responsive to infant feeding cues (hunger, satiety)than parents in the control group.