Complementary Feeding Patterns Research Articles

Complementary Feeding and Growth of Infant and Young Child in China

To understand the status and problems of complementary feeding and to explore the strategy of improving complementary feeding for infants and young children in China. Data of urban and rural children were selected from the China Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (CFNSS) dataset to describe the status of complementary feeding and growth of children. Logistic Regression was used to analyze the relationship between child growth and the complementary feeding pattern. Applications of foods that come from animals, vegetable/fruit and dairy product in complementary feeding were negatively correlated to the prevalence of stunting and underweight. Attributable risk (AR) of no application of vegetable/fruit in complementary feeding to stunting was 30.2%, to underweight 35.4%; AR of no application of foods from animal products in complementary feeding to stunting was 28.2%, to underweight 11.7%; and the AR of no application of diary products in complementary feeding to stunting was 27.4%, to underweight was 15.9%. Complementary feeding contributed to the improvement of infants and young children growth in China. There is an urgent need to develop health education in the public on infants and young children complementary feeding, in the mean time, it is pressing to pay attention and take actions to develop and promote affordable, acceptable, and accessible fortified complementary food in rural areas of China.

Feeding patterns of underweight children in rural Malawi given supplementary fortified spread at home

Fortified spread (FS), containing dry food particles embedded in edible fat, offers a convenient means for nutrition rehabilitation. To describe how caregivers feed FS to their undernourished children at home, and how FS use affects other feeding patterns, we conducted a longitudinal observational study in rural Malawi. Sixteen 6- to 17-month-old underweight children (weight-for-age z-score < -2.0; -3.0 < weight-for-height z-score < 0) received FS for 12 weeks. Twelve-hour observations were conducted before supplementation and during weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12 of FS use. FS was fed to children about two times per day; each serving was 15-20 g. The spread was first used mainly alone as a between-meal snack, and then became integrated into the typical complementary feeding pattern by being mixed with porridge. Introduction of FS reduced the number of plain porridge meals, but did not decrease the total number of meals or breastfeeds per day and did not change the daily mean time caregivers spent on feeding. Children accepted the FS well, but more FS was wasted when it was offered mixed with porridge than when given alone (23.6% vs. 1.2%, 95% CI for the difference 13.2% to 31.6%). FS supplementation is feasible for community-based nutrition interventions in Malawi because it easily becomes part of the feeding routine, does not replace other foods and does not take extra caregiver time. To limit wastage, caregivers should be advised to serve FS plain or to mix it with only a small quantity of porridge.

Factors Affecting Complementary Feeding Pattern in Alexandria

Factors Affecting Complementary Feeding Pattern in Alexandria

Evolution of Infant and Young Child Feeding: Implications for Contemporary Public Health

Evolutionary anthropological and ethnographic studies are used to develop a general conceptual framework for understanding prehistoric, historic, and contemporary variation in human lactation and complementary feeding patterns. Comparison of similarities and differences in human and nonhuman primate lactation biology suggests humans have evolved an unusually flexible strategy for feeding young. Several lines of indirect evidence are consistent with a hypothesis that complementary feeding evolved as a facultative strategy that provided a unique adaptation for resolving tradeoffs between maternal costs of lactation and risk of poor infant outcomes. This evolved flexibility may have been adaptive in the environments in which humans evolved, but it creates potential for mismatch between optimal and actual feeding practices in many contemporary populations.

Micronutrient intake and feeding behaviors associated with better growth differ for breastfed (BF) and non‐breastfed (NBF) infants in peri‐urban Philippines

The relationship of growth increment from 6 to 11 mos to dietary intake & feeding behaviors was examined in a sample of 250 infants in poor peri-urban metro-Manila households. Monthly 24-hour food recalls were converted to nutrient values using Philippine Food Composition Tables; anthropometric measures were analyzed using new WHO reference standards. Growth increment was expressed as difference between weight-for-age z scores (WAZ) at 6 & 11 months. Mean WAZ among BF (n=118) infants significantly declined (t=−10.01, p<0.001) but remained essentially unchanged for NBF (n=132; t=−1.25, p=0.212). Caloric intake was significantly associated with growth for both (BF, p<0.01; NBF, p=0.02), but micronutrients & feeding behaviors associated with growth differed. For BF zinc intake, giving rice water & chocolate milk was associated with better growth; higher vit C & adding sugars to other foods marked poor growth. For NBF, better growth was marked by higher folate & giving eggs; poor growth by giving sweets. These differences indicate that complementary feeding patterns were substantially different between BF & NBF. On average, mothers of BF need to add more energy to child diet, while avoiding low nutrient dense foods is a priority for NBF. Results highlight the importance of tailoring counseling advice by breastfeeding status to reduce growth faltering in the 2nd semester of life.

Complementary feeding: clinically relevant factors affecting timing and composition

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 mo of life followed by optimal complementary feeding are critical public health measures for reducing and preventing morbidity and mortality in young children. Clinical factors, such as birth weight, prematurity, and illness, that affect the iron and zinc requirements of younger infants are discussed. Maternal diet and nutritional status do not have a strong effect on the mineral content of human milk, but physiologic changes in milk and the infants’ status determine the dependence of the infant on complementary foods in addition to human milk to meet iron and zinc requirements after 6 mo. The nature of zinc absorption, which is suitably characterized by saturation response modeling, dictates that plant-based diets, which are low in zinc, are associated with low absolute daily absorbed zinc, which is inadequate to meet requirements. Foods with a higher zinc content, such as meats, are much more likely to be sufficient to meet dietary requirements. Current plant-based complementary feeding patterns for older fully breastfed infants in both developed and developing countries pose a risk of zinc deficiency. The strong rationale for the potential benefits of providing meat as an early complementary food, and the examples of successful intervention programs, provide potent incentives to pursue broader implementation programs, with concurrent rigorous evaluation of both efficacy and effectiveness.

Pola makanan pendamping air susu ibu dan status gizi bayi 0-12 bulan di Kecamatan Lhoknga Kabupaten Aceh Besar

Background: The prevalence of malnutrition in Indonesia is still high. One of potential factor contributing to the high prevalence of malnutrition is improper complementary feeding pattern and breast feeding practices. In the community there are three complementary feeding patterns; those are traditional feeding, industries feeding and combination.Objective: This study was conducted to analyze the association between complementary feeding, energy and protein intake, and breast feeding status with nutritional status of infants 0-12 month old.Method: This study used a cross sectional design. Subjects were 151 infants 0-12 month old. Complementary feeding pattern and breast feeding status were collected using interview methods. Energy and protein intakes were collected using food recall methods. Nutritional status was measured using weight for length (WHZ). The chi square test was used to analyze the data.Result: There wasn’t any association between complementary feeding pattern and nutritional status of infants 0-6 m.o. old (p=0.04) and 6-12 month (p=0.62). There wasn’t any association between energy intake and nutritional status of infants 0-6 month old (p=0.40), but there was any association in infants 6-12 month old (p=0.01). Protein intake associated with nutritional status of infants 0-6 m.o. old and 6-12 month old (p=0.033 and p=0.04). Breast feeding status didn’t associated with nutritional status of infants 0-6 month old and 6-12 month old (p=0.689 and p=0.10).Conclusion: Complementary pattern and breast feeding status were not associated with nutritional status. Energy intake was associated with nutritional status of infants 6-12 month old. Protein intake associated with nutritional status of infants 0-6 month old and 6-12 month old.

Complementary feeding in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study

Abstract Aim: To describe complementary feeding practices in the Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) sample. Methods: Food frequency questionnaires and 24‐h dietary recalls were administered to describe child feeding throughout the first 2 y of life. This information was used to determine complementary feeding initiation, meal frequency and use of fortified foods. Descriptions of foods consumed and dietary diversity were derived from the 24‐h recalls. Compliance with the feeding recommendations of the MGRS was determined on the basis of the food frequency reports. Descriptive statistics provide a profile of the complementary feeding patterns among the compliant children. Results: Complementary feeding in the compliant group began at a mean age of 5.4 mo (range: 4.8 (Oman)–5.8 mo (Ghana)). Complementary food intake rose from 2 meals/d at 6 mo to 4–5 meals in the second year, in a reverse trend to breastfeeding frequency. Total intake from the two sources was 11 meals/d at 6–12 mo, dropping to 7 meals/d at 24 mo. Inter‐site differences in total meal frequency were mainly due to variations in breastfeeding frequency. Grains were the most commonly selected food group compared with other food groups that varied more by site due to cultural factors, for example, infrequent consumption of flesh foods in India. The use of fortified foods and nutrient supplements was also influenced by site‐variable practices. Dietary diversity varied minimally between compliance groups and sites. Conclusion: Complementary diets in the MGRS met global recommendations and were adequate to support physiological growth.

Complementary Feeding Pattern in a Population of Pre-school Children: Any relationship with Current Feeding Habit?

Objective: It has been postulated that offering bland diets to infants could habituate to food refusal during early childhood. To investigate the complementary feeding pattern in Nigerian preschool children and a possible association with their current feeding habits, a cross-sectional study of two hundred (200) children was done in Enugu, eastern Nigeria. Method: Their mothers were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Results: Irrespective of socio-economic status, majority of the children were commenced on complementary foods between 4 and 6 months of life, which mainly consisted of poorly fortified home-prepared cereals. A higher percentage (90%) of the children who exhibited food-refusal habit at the time of study were given cereals not fortified with sweeteners, compared to about 75% of their counterparts without this habit who were similarly fed. The difference between the two groups was however not statistically significant (x 0.795, p > 0.05). Conclusion: Although a valid association has not been established between complementary feeding pattern and food refusal, a longitudinal study may be required to establish any causal relationship. Key Words: Complementary feeding, preschool children, food refusal, association. Orient Journal of Medicine Vol.16(3&4) 2004: 26-30

Sub-optimal breast feeding practices: ethnographic approaches to building "baby friendly" communities.

Observations that exclusive breastfeeding in the early months of life, extended partial breastfeeding and transition to high quality non-breast milk foods have biological benefits are unsurprising from an evolutionary perspective. Nevertheless, in order to ascertain the optimal timing of components of the human weaning process, one must adopt a rigorous comparative biomedical approach. Most research on human milk and lactation therefore uses evidence-based methods and clinical outcomes to quantify the effects of different “doses” of breastfeeding (“none”, “exclusive”, “partial”, “extended”, etc.) and to identify the nutritional, immunological and endocrinological mechanisms mediating such effects. Comparisons among groups of children exposed to different patterns of breastfeeding and complementary feeding show that only some patterns maximize growth and development, energy and nutrient intakes in relation to estimated requirements, and survival for the normal, healthy child.KeywordsBreast FeedingExclusive BreastfeedFeeding PracticeComplementary FeedingRefugee ChildThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Patterns of Complementary Feeding (Weaning) in Countries of the European Union: Topics for Research

The 4- to 6-month guideline has been adopted for more than 25 years in individual countries1 somewhat before the adoption of this arbitrary range by WHO and the North American countries. It was also mentioned in documents intended for Europe as a whole eg, from the European Union and professional societies.2,3 Nevertheless, many mothers ignore these guidelines. For example, in Britain 90% of them have introduced other foods apart from breast milk or formula by the age of 4 months, indeed a quarter of them have done so by the age of 8 weeks.4 Because cows' milk is rarely consumed at this early age embarrassment of renal concentrating ability and hypernatremia are almost never seen now despite this introduction of complementary foods earlier than recommended. Are these infants coming to any other harm? Alternatively, should we accept that their mothers' instincts to complement earlier are acceptable? One study found that among children aged 7 years who had received weaning foods before 15 weeks of age there was a greater prevalence …

Urbanization in Latin America: Constraints and Opportunities for Child Feeding and Care

The principal aim of this paper is to describe the socio-economic context in which the topic of processed complementary feeding in Latin America should be examined. Data from CEPAL (Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe) and from the Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) are used to review global trends in urban poverty and malnutrition in the region. The phenomena that are unique to urban life and that are likely to have an impact on child-care and feeding practices are reviewed using data from DHS for six Latin American countries. The issues examined include the higher levels of education and of labour force participation of urban women, the larger percentage of women who head households, and the potentially different family structure and social networks, which may affect the availability of substitute child care. Urban and rural differences in breastfeeding and complementary feeding patterns are also examined to improve our understanding of the potential constraints and opportunities for the promotion of processed complementary foods in Latin America. Programmatic issues that need to be considered in designing and targeting such interventions in largely urbanized Latin America are also discussed.