[Feeding practices among rural families of Medellín, Colombia]

Some feeding practices among families of Medellin's Districts: Santa Helena, Belen Altavista, Palmitas, San Cristóbal and San Antonio de Prado are presented. It is a descriptive and transversal investigation. The sample used was representative and probabilistic. Breast feeding practice is prevalent in all the Districts mentioned above; a duration average of the breast feeding was observed between 10 and 13 months (p < 0.05), 29% of the women, declared having some kind of difficulty trying to breast feed their last child. The main reasons for this were: low milk production and illness of the mother. 53% of the mothers informed to have introduced the complementary feeding before four months. Fruits and vegetable consumption was low, comparing it with the high level of consumption of beans. The cooking methods most used were deep frying and boiling. The oils and lard used have a high content of saturated fat acids. Most of the members of the families, they consume the main foods and they make it in the home (breakfast, lunch and supper). On the other hand in between meals tend to disappear, especially midmorning and late snack.