[Nutritional problems perceived by pediatricians in Spanish children younger than 3 years]

Parents are most responsible for nutritional education of children, and pediatricians must advise and help them with their doubts. The purpose of this study was to know the relevance of nutritional topics in daily practice and the main nutritional problems perceived by pediatricians in children under 3 years of age.

Descriptive, cross-sectional study performed in 2 stages. First stage consisted on discussion meetings with 30 random-selected pediatricians from Madrid and Barcelona. Results were used to design the on-line questionnaire of the second stage (76 questions related to nutrition in children under 3 years). A random and representative sample of Spanish pediatricians was selected for this stage.

One hundred and fifty one pediatricians, among 258 sampled, completed the questionnaire. They referred to see a mean of 588 patients/month. The main perceived nutritional problems in the first year of life were iron and vitamin deficiencies and poor weight gain. In the next months, excess in carbohydrates and lipid intake and overweight were the main problems perceived. Parents were considered the main actors regarding their children's nutritional health, but their concern in these questions significantly reduced with children's age (p < 0,0001). Factors considered to have the greatest relevance in the acquisition of good nutritional habits were to provide a diet adjusted for children's requirements and to observe the appropriate sleeping hours. The proportion of children who receive nutritional counseling varied from 88% (0-6 months) to 61% (24-36 months).

Despite of the relevance given by pediatricians, educational intervention regarding nutritional health is not ideal. Nutritional problems perceived by pediatricians varied with children's age.