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Background: Emerging evidence suggests that low socioeconomic status (SES) home environments may play a role by promoting excess energy intake through a lack of access to non-food reinforcers. Because of the deleterious effects of SES-related disparities on child health and development, feasible and culturally acceptable interventions are urgently needed. Community-based music enrichment programs may be an ideal intervention strategy. Methods: In collaboration with a local non-profit organization and music studio, we conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of a music enrichment program versus a play date control in a group of 9–24-month-old healthy infants (N = 16). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City. This study is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05868811). Results: Overall, we found some intervention effects on the relative reinforcing value of food (RRVfood) and the home environmental enrichment measures (i.e., increased music use at home and the home language environment). Our intervention demonstrated large effects on the increased use of music at home. We did not find significant group differences in the RRVfood and home language environment, but some of the effect sizes were medium-to-large. Results also suggest that our intervention is feasible and acceptable. Parent feedback indicated that the intervention was well-liked and that the steps we took to help reduce barriers worked. Conclusions: Music enrichment programs may be a high-impact, low-cost strategy to address socioeconomic disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first years of life are critical for language development. Numerous studies indicate that actively participating in music creates a neural processing advantage in brain regions that support language development. Nevertheless, shared social characteristics between music and language may also play a role in explaining the benefits of music engagement during infancy for language development. The causal effects of a social learning pathway explaining the relation between music and language development in infants have not been fully elucidated. In this article, we posit that music enrichment programs indirectly benefit language development through enhanced parental responsiveness, an aspect of high‐quality parent–infant interactions. We summarize research on parent–child music enrichment classes and early language development. We also provide a narrative review and conceptual model of relevant research to support how parental responsiveness may partly explain the association between participating in music enrichment programs during infancy and benefits to early language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early language environment, especially high‐quality, contingent parent–child language interactions, is crucial for a child's language development and later academic success. In this secondary analysis study, 89 parent–child dyads were randomly assigned to either the Music Together® (music) or play date (control) classes. Children were 9‐ to 15‐month old at baseline, primarily white (86.7%) and female (52%). Measures of conversational turns (CTs) and parental verbal quality were coded from parent–child free play episodes at baseline, mid‐intervention (month 6), and post‐intervention (month 12). Results show that participants in the music group had a significantly greater increase in CT measures and quality of parent verbalization post‐intervention. Music enrichment programs may be a strategy to enhance parent–child language interactions during early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effortful control (EC), a self‐regulation skill, is associated with long‐term developmental outcomes. Music has been associated with infant self‐regulation and may be an intervention strategy for enhancing EC during toddlerhood. This investigation included 32 parent‐child dyads from a previously conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants (9‐15‐months old at baseline) attended either a music enrichment program or a playdate control once a week for 1 year and monthly for an additional year. At age 3, participants completed snack and gift delay effortful control tasks. Groups were compared using one‐way ANOVA. We found that participants in the music group had a significantly higher score during snack delay (music mean = 3.47 ± 0.94; control mean = 2.45 ± 1.51; p = 0.03; Cohen's d = 0.84). We did not find a significant group difference for latency to peek (music mean = 39.10 ± 20.10; control mean = 30.90 ± 19.88; p = 0.25; d = 0.57) or latency to touch (music mean = 105.73 ± 417.69; control mean = 98.35 ± 28.84; p = 0.38; d = 0.29) for the gift task. This study provides initial evidence that early participation in a music enrichment program may benefit later development of EC. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02936284). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If food reinforcement becomes more exaggerated over time and influences infant and child obesity risk, understanding the timing and amount of HPF exposure may be critical in modifying a positive trajectory of high food reinforcement. For example, for those interested in examining aspects of the paradigm from a behavioral perspective, researchers could test the ways in which exposure to the unhealthy nutrient sources in infancy may influence food motivation, food preference, food approach, and food choice behavior. A new paradigm for investigating the etiology of obesity in early childhood: Exposure to added sugars and hyper-palatable foods in infancy and dysregulation of food reinforcement processes Exposure to added sugars via infant formula and hyper-palatable foods (HPF) Two key nutrient sources may negatively influence the development of food preferences and eating behavior in infancy. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To quantify the change in availability of hyper-palatable foods (HPF) in the US foods system over 30 years (1988-2018).Design: Three datasets considered representative of the US food system were used in analyses to represent years 1988, 2001 and 2018. A standardised definition from Fazzino et al. (2019) that specifies combinations of nutrients was used to identify HPF.Setting: Analysis of food-item level data was conducted. Differences in the prevalence of HPF were characterised by Cochran's Q and McNemar's tests. Generalised linear mixed models with a fixed effect for time and random intercept for food item estimated change in the likelihood that a food was classified as hyper-palatable over time.Participants: No participant data were used.Results: The prevalence of HPF increased 20 % from 1988 to 2018 (from 49 % to 69 %; P < 0·0001). The most prominent difference was in the availability of HPF high in fat and Na, which evidenced a 17 % higher prevalence in 2018 compared with 1988 (P < 0·0001). Compared with 1988, the same food items were >2 times more likely to be hyper-palatable in 2001, and the same food items were >4 times more likely to be classified as hyper-palatable in 2018 compared with 1988 (P values < 0·0001).Conclusions: The availability of HPF in the US food system increased substantially over 30 years. Existing food products in the food system may have been reformulated over time to enhance their palatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Consumption of added sugars is linked to excess adiposity in older age groups and breastfeeding has been shown to protect against later obesity. Objectives: This investigation aimed to determine whether intake of added sugars associates with rapid weight gain in individuals under 2 years of age, if intake of added sugars associates with breastfeeding duration, and how both influence body weight. Methods: A cross‐sectional analysis of data from three 24‐hours dietary recalls collected from 141 infants/toddlers (age 11.9 ± 1.9 months, 44.7% male) was performed. Multivariable regressions assessed relationships between added sugar intakes, breastfeeding duration, and weight status. Hierarchical regressions examined added variance accounted for in rapid weight gain (specifically, upward weight‐for‐age percentile [WFA %tile] crossing) through the interaction of added sugars * breastfeeding duration. Results: Added sugars correlated positively with upward WFA %tile crossing (r = 0.280, P <.001) and negatively with breastfeeding duration (r = −0.468, P <.001). Consumption of added sugars was a significant predictor of rapid weight gain when breastfeeding duration was short (<12 months, β = 0.020, P =.029), but not long (≥12 months, β = 0.001, P =.875). Conclusions: A high intake of added sugars in individuals below age 2 associates with rapid weight gain, though breastfeeding ≥12 months appears protective against this. Further studies are necessary to substantiate these findings and provide insight into underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]