Office-based intervention to reduce bottle use among toddlers: TARGet Kids! Pragmatic, randomized trial

The goal was to determine whether an office-based, educational intervention for parents of 9-month-old children could reduce bottle use and iron depletion at 2 years of age.

Between January 2006 and 2007, 251 healthy, 9-month-old infants attending a routine health maintenance visit were assigned randomly to intervention or control groups. Parents in the intervention group were introduced to a 1-week protocol to wean their children from the bottle. Iron depletion (ferritin levels of <10 microg/L) and bottle use at 2 years were assessed.

A total of 201 children were monitored to 2 years of age (follow-up rate: 81%). Rates of iron depletion (10 [10%] of 102 children vs 13 [13%] of 99 children; P = .42) and milk consumption of >16 oz (16 [16%] of 102 children vs 17 [17%] of 99 children; P = .7) were not significantly different between the 2 groups at 2 years of age. However, children in the intervention group started using a cup 3 months earlier (9 vs 12 months; P = .001), were weaned from the bottle 4 months earlier (12 vs 16 months; P = .004), and were more than one-half as likely to be using a bottle at 2 years of age (15 [15%] of 102 children vs 39 [40%] of 99 children; P = .0004).

This simple intervention administered during a health maintenance visit did not result in a decrease in iron depletion at 2 years of age but did result in a 60% reduction in prolonged bottle use.