Assessment of the Infant and Toddler Nutrition Status in the U.S.: A Recent Literature Review

Abstract

Infancy and early childhood period is critical in human development and nutrition practices during this period influence the life‐long health. The objective of this review is to compare and contrast the key large scale infants and toddlers nutrition studies in the U.S. A PubMed search (using search terms “Nutrition OR Diet OR [Nutrient Intake]”, past 10 years, in Humans age 1–23 months published in English) provided 10033 publications. Title/abstracts review of these publications provided over 50 relevant publications and many of these publications discussed the data from three major studies on nutritional status of infants and toddlers: 1) the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) ‐ a large cross‐sectional study of US infants and toddlers (n=3022, aged 4–24 mo ‐ FITS 2002 and n=1812, aged less than 2 years ‐ FITS 2008) assessing their usual nutrient intakes and food consumption pattern; 2) Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II) ‐a longitudinal survey study of infant feeding and care practices throughout the first year of life conducted by US Food and Drug Administration in 2005–2007 with more than 3000 U.S. infants sampled in the neonatal period and about 1800 followed through 12 months of age; and 3) the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2012 ‐ a cross‐sectional study of 2740 U.S. infants and toddlers aged 0–24 months as a part of a ongoing national survey monitoring the diets and health status of all Americans. Data from FITS indicated that although the diets of U.S. infants and toddlers were overall nutritionally adequate, nutritious food choices such as milk, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains in a variety of forms need to be encouraged. IFPS II raised concerns with several infant feeding practices including substantial infant formula supplementation, early introduction of solid foods, late introduction of meats, and feeding of high‐fat/high‐sugar foods to infants. NHANES 2005–2012 indicated that while human milk, infant formula and baby foods were the top sources of nutrition among infants, a variety of food groups including milk, fruit juices and grains contributed to nutrient intakes of toddlers, however, a number of foods of low nutritional quality including sweet bakery products, sugar‐sweetened beverages and savory snacks were also part of their diet. Overall, these studies provide useful insight but they also raise concerns and emphasize the need for developing the science based dietary guidelines to improve the diets of infants and toddlers.Support or Funding InformationBeech‐Nut Nutrition Company