Complementary feeding: Inappropriate practices in infants

Abstract

objective: To assess feeding practices and dietary intake of healthy infants in three brazilian municipalities. Methods: by means of a prospective study, we analyzed the food record of 7 consecutive days of an inten- tional sample (quota and weighted sampling) of 179 healthy infants, aged between 4 and 12 months, from the municipalities of curitiba, São Paulo, and recife, who were not being exclusively breastfed. mothers received oral and written information provided by a nutritionist with the purpose of standardizing the feeding data. the computer program nutWin was used to calculate the dietary intake. results: the median of the infants' age was 6.8 months (4.0-12.6 months). We found that 50.3% of the infants were no longer being exclusively breastfed. of these, 12.0 and 6.7% among the infants younger and older than 6 months, respectively, were fed with infant formulae instead of breast milk. therefore, most infants received whole cow's milk. infant formula dilution was correct in only 23.8 and 34.7% of the infants younger and older than 6 months old, respectively. With regards to complementary feeding, we found that the median age was 4 months for its introduction and 5.5 months for the introduction of family diet. there was high quantitative inappropriateness of micronutrient intake for infants between 6 and 12 months old who were not exclusively breastfed, mainly in terms of zinc (75%) and iron (45%). Conclusion: the present study showed a high frequency of inappropriate feeding prac- tices and dietary intake in very young infants. these practices may lead to an increased risk of development of chronic diseases in the future.