# Managing Excess Infant Energy Intake by Increasing Satiation Responsiveness in Dyadic Feeding Interactions

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $132,300

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Emerging evidence suggests that infants with greater appetitive drive may benefit from different feeding
approaches for the prevention of obesity and chronic disease. Slower milk delivery may be a promising
strategy, given that slower eating is associated with reduced intake and lesser weight gain throughout the
lifespan, including in infancy. In a sample of 243 infants aged 2-4 months, slower milk delivery increased
sucking effort and reduced intake. The results of this experiment, though reflective of only a single pair of
feedings, suggest that slower milk delivery may be a promising intervention strategy for addressing excessive
infant weight gain. However, many questions remain before the development of such an intervention could be
pursued, including the mechanism for this behavior change. The proposed project will examine infant, mother,
and dyadic interaction behavior during the feedings with slower milk delivery from this experiment, and
compare infant, mother, and dyadic behavior between faster and slower milk delivery to address the following
aims. Aim 1 (K99): To examine the relative contributions of infant (satiation signaling, behavioral distress,
sucking vigor), maternal (responsivity, behavioral distress), and dyadic (mutuality, feeding duration) behaviors
as mechanisms explaining the effect of slowed milk delivery on reduced intake in a single feeding. Aim 2
(K99): To examine whether the pathways of association in this conceptual model differ between infants with
typical versus high appetitive drive. Aim 3 (R00): Among 220 infants at age 8-12 weeks, to examine—across
72 hours of feedings in which milk delivery rate is slowed by 30% compared to typical—the cross-lagged
associations of changes from baseline in sucking vigor and feeding frequency with infant satiation signaling,
infant behavioral distress, and dyadic mutuality and to determine if these associations differ based on higher
versus lower infant appetitive drive. The PI, Dr. Crandall, is a behavioral scientist with an interdisciplinary
background in nutrition, psychology, and public health. Her growing research program seeks to understand
the cascading effect of high infant appetitive drive, integrating the dyadic nature of infant eating/feeding with
the hope of developing safe, effective, and equitable intervention strategies. With the support of a
multidisciplinary team of mentors, during the training phase of this award Dr. Crandall will grow her content
knowledge of the physiology of infant eating behavior and growth; gain experience with three levels of
behavioral coding of mother-infant feeding interactions; gain experience with structural equation modeling
techniques; and, in the R00 phase, conduct an independent investigation of infant/mother feeding behavior
with slower milk delivery across multiple days. At the conclusion of the award period, Dr. Crandall will be
poised to test an intervention designed to manage high appetitive drive and excessi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10906173
- **Project number:** 5K99HD112517-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Amanda K Crandall
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $132,300
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10906173

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10906173, Managing Excess Infant Energy Intake by Increasing Satiation Responsiveness in Dyadic Feeding Interactions (5K99HD112517-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10906173. Licensed CC0.

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