Meat as complementary food for older breastfed infants and toddlers: a randomized, controlled trial in rural China

Because of its contribution to dietary diversity and to favorable intakes of micronutrients, including iron and zinc, meat is hypothesized to be a valuable complementary food for the infant and young child. However, the evidence base remains limited.

To compare the difference in anthropometric measurements of rural Chinese infants and toddlers 6 to 18 months of age who received a daily supplement of meat or cereal for 12 months.

This cluster-randomized, controlled study provided a daily supplement of either meat (n = 514, 20 clusters) or cereal (n = 957, 40 clusters) starting as a first complementary food at 6 months of age. Anthropometric measurements were assessed longitudinally.

After 12 months of intervention, the meat group (δ13.01 ± 1.9 cm) had greater (p = .01) linear growth than the cereal group (δ12.75 ± 1.8 cm) and a smaller decrease in length-for-age z-score (LAZ) over time (-0.43 ± 0.72 in the meat group vs. -0.54 ± 0.67 in the cereal group), after adjustment for baseline length, LAZ, maternal education, work status, and maternal height and weight.

Linear growth was modestly greater in the meat group than in the cereal group. LAZ was substantially negative at 6 months, and the intervention did not prevent ongoing decline over the course of the study.