Complementary feeding of infants in their first year of life: focus on the main pureed baby foods

• Autor(a) principal: Souza, Fabíola Isabel Suano de
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Caetano, Michelle Cavalcante [UNIFESP], Ortiz, Thaís Tobaruela, Silva, Simone Guerra Lopes da, Sarni, Roseli Oselka Saccardo [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.60.03.011; http://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/8443
• topic: feeding; infant; nutrition for at-risk groups; child nutrition disorders; alimentação; lactente; nutrição de grupos de risco; transtornos da nutrição infantil

Objective:to evaluate the complementary feeding practices for infants, focusing on the main pureed baby foods, and verify adherence to the guidelines adopted in Brazil. Methods:through cross-sectional study, aspects of complementary feeding of 404 healthy infants between 4 and 9 months of age (São Paulo, Curitiba and Recife) were evaluated. Socio-demographic data, history and food habits were collected. Mothers described three recipes (preparations) usually used in key baby foods. The findings were compared with those recommended by the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics. Results:the average age was 6.9±1.6 months. Among infants, 241/404 (59.6%) were still breastfeeding. Among those who received another type of milk, 193/368 (52.4%) received whole cow's milk, while 151/368 (41.0%) drank infant or follow-on formulas. Regarding baby food recipes salted reported by mothers, it was seen that 30% and 60% contained meat and vegetables, respectively. The percentages less suitable for feeding in general were observed for use of cow's milk and added sugar, chocolate and cereal in feeding bottles; 79% and 80.5% of the families interviewed would adopted such practices. Conclusion:the early termination of exclusive/predominant breastfeeding and the practice of an inadequate transition diet have shown a picture of quantitatively and qualitatively inadequate feeding, with the risk of causing serious nutritional problems in later ages, such as anemia and vitamin A deficiency, or excess of nutrients, leading to obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemias.