Frequency of Use of Added Sugar, Salt, and Fat in Infant Foods up to 10 Months in the Nationwide ELFE Cohort Study: Associated Infant Feeding and Caregiving Practices.

Marie Bournez,Eléa Ksiazek,Marie-Aline Charles,Marie-Claude Brindisi,Sandrine Lioret,Blandine De Lauzon-Guillain,Sophie Nicklaus

doi:10.3390/nu11040733

Abstract

The consumption of sugar, salt, and fat in infancy may influence later health. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of use of added sugar, salt, and fat during the complementary feeding period and the associated infant caregiving practices. Data were obtained from a monthly questionnaire filled by parents for 10,907 infants from the French Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance (ELFE) cohort. A score of frequency of use (SU) for added sugar, salt, and fat (oil, margarine, butter, and/or cream) was calculated from the age at complementary feeding introduction (CFI) to the 10th month. Associations between the SU of each added ingredient with infant feeding and caregiving practices were studied with multivariable linear regressions adjusted for familial characteristics. Only 28% of the parents followed the recommendation of adding fat and simultaneously not adding sugar or salt. Breastfeeding mothers were more prone to add sugar, salt, and fat than non-breastfeeding mothers. CFI before four months was positively associated with the SU of added sugar and salt and negatively associated with the SU of added fat. The use of commercial baby food was negatively related to the SU of added salt and fat. The use of these added ingredients was mainly related to breastfeeding, age at CFI, and use of commercial food, and it was independent of the household socioeconomic characteristics.

Highlights

Current European and French guidelines recommend that complementary foods should be introduced between four and six months old [1,2], while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends their introduction at six months old [3,4]
The present study focuses on the addition of sugar, salt, and fat by the parents during the complementary feeding (CF)
Our study is the first to assess the use of added sugar, salt, and fat during the CF period and their associated factors in a nationally representative population

Summary

Introduction

Current European and French guidelines recommend that complementary foods should be introduced between four and six months old [1,2], while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends their introduction at six months old [3,4]. In the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) cohort, Brazionis et al showed that a less healthy transitional diet in infants from six to 24 months old was associated with higher blood pressure at 7.5 years of age. In this cohort, Brion et al showed that sodium intake in four-month-old infants was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (BP). Reducing salt intake decreases arterial BP in children as in adults, as well as in the primary and secondary prevention of hypertension [12,13,14]

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Conclusion