Determinants of fruits, vegetables, and ultra-processed foods consumption among infants

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the influence of individual and contextual determinants on infant’s consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV), and ultra-processed foods (UPF). The data was obtained from the Survey of Prevalence of Breastfeeding in Brazilian Municipalities, 2008. A representative sample of 14,326 infants 6-11.9 months old, from seventy-five municipalities of São Paulo state was evaluated. The influence of determinants on FV and UPF consumption was analyzed using Poisson multilevel regression. Mother’s educational level and maternal age had positive dose-response effect for the consumption of FV (p trend < 0.001) and negative for UPF (p trend < 0.001). Infants of multiparous women and those who received outpatient care in public medical system showed lower prevalence of FV (p < 0.001 for both) and higher prevalence of UPF (respectively, p < 0.001 and p = 0.001). Moreover, the contextual variable related to population size indicated that the prevalence of consumption of FV decreased (p < 0.001) and UPF increased (p = 0.081) with decreased population size. Therefore, infants born to women with low education levels, who received outpatient care in the public health network, and who reside in small municipalities should be prioritized for educational programs related to feeding practices.

Evolution of infant feeding practices in children from 9 to 24 months, considering complementary feeding indicators and food processing: Results from the Brazilian cohort of the MAL‐ED study

“…In the present study, among the possible factors associated with high consumption of ultra‐processed foods, logistic regressions showed that, at 9 months, breastfed children had a lower likelihood of high consumption of ultra‐processed food. This finding is in line with studies reporting that breast milk consumption is associated with lower consumption of ultra‐processed foods among children between 6 and 12 months (Fonseca et al, 2019 ; Giesta et al, 2019 ; Passanha et al, 2021 ; Spaniol et al, 2020 ). A possible cause for this lower consumption of ultra‐processed food is that breastfeeding mothers tend to limit their children's exposure to and consumption of unhealthy foods (Dwyer, 2018 ).…”

“…S. Costa et al, 2019;Filgueiras et al, 2019;Rauber et al, 2015;Spaniol et al, 2020). Some Brazilian researchers have performed an analysis of complementary feeding, considering the extent of food processing (Fonseca et al, 2019;Giesta et al, 2019;Passanha et al, 2021;Ribas et al, 2021;Santos et al, 2018). They concluded that the feeding practices of children between 4 and 24 months were inappropriate, with high ultra-processed food consumption.…”

“…They concluded that the feeding practices of children between 4 and 24 months were inappropriate, with high ultra‐processed food consumption. However, they presented the limitations of performing a cross‐sectional analysis (Fonseca et al, 2019 ; Passanha et al, 2021 ; Santos et al, 2018 ) or retrospective analysis of hospitalized children (Giesta et al, 2019 ; Ribas et al, 2021 ).…”

Residential Food Environment, Household Wealth and Maternal Education Association to Preschoolers’ Consumption of Plant-Based Vitamin A-Rich Foods: The EAT Addis Survey in Addis Ababa

“…In this study, maternal education was positively and strongly associated with children consumption of plant-based vitamin A-rich diet. Higher educational attainment is known to be an important factor for attitudes towards the consumption of the vitamin A-rich plant sources food groups [25,26,62,63]. Educated mothers are more likely to have nutrition literacy and healthier dietary practices, allowing them to mediate healthier diets for their children [64].…”

Food consumption markers and minimum dietary diversity in different complementary feeding methods: a randomized clinical trial

“…11 A baixa variedade de alimentos na dieta está associada à restrição do crescimento, agravamento das principais deficiências de micronutrientes, atraso intelectual, ganho de peso e, em longo prazo, ao desenvolvimento de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis. 12,13 Dados disponíveis no Brasil demonstram práticas inadequadas na AC tradicional como a oferta de alimentos não recomendados no primeiro ano de vida. 12,14,15 Mesmo com a crescente popularidade dos métodos de AC e os resultados promissores na diversidade alimentar 7 e exposição a vegetais 6 na alimentação infantil, há uma lacuna na literatura sobre se tais métodos impactam positivamente a variedade alimentar e consequentemente a presença de DAM.…”