TITLE:
Dietary Patterns of Children during the First Year of Life: A Cohort Study —Dietary Patterns of Children
AUTHORS:
Angelina Do Carmo Lessa, Lorena Barbosa Fonseca, Luciana Neri Nobre, Ana Marlúcia De Oliveira Assis
KEYWORDS:
Complementary Feeding, Factor Analyses, Dietary Patterns
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.8 No.11,
November
22,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objective: To identify the dietary patterns of children during the first year of
life. Methods: This is a longitudinal study of children born between September
2004 and April 2005 residing in Diamantina, MG, Brazil. Data were collected
from children who were six, nine and twelve months of age. Data were
collected at their homes using a questionnaire that included a socioeconomic
and demographic profile of the family. Information on diet was obtained using
24 hour food recall. Principal Component Analysis was used to identify
the dietary patterns. Results: Three dietary patterns were identified and denominated
“Porridge”, “Pap” and “Family Food”. The most common dietary
pattern was composed of milk, sugar and fortified flour and was negatively
correlated with breastfeeding. The second dietary pattern was composed of
tubers, vegetables and fruits. The third dietary pattern consisted of cereal,
meat, beans and tea; this pattern was repeated at different ages, with some
variation at the sixth month when artificial drinks were included and meat
and tea were excluded. Conclusion: There was some variation in the dietary
patterns of children; however, porridge was used predominantly in all studied
ages. Information on dietary patterns may be useful for evaluating and redirecting
food and nutrition policies.