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First foods: Why improving young children's diets matter
France Bégin1, Víctor M Aguayo1
1Nutrition Section, Programme Division, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), New York, New York, USA.
Maternal & Child Nutrition
|October 17, 2017
Summary
Improving complementary feeding for children aged 6-23 months is crucial, as global rates for minimum meal frequency and dietary diversity remain low. This overview highlights strategies to enhance infant nutrition during the critical first thousand days.
Area of Science:
- Global child nutrition
- Infant and young child feeding (IYCF)
- Public health and nutrition policy
Background:
- Globally, suboptimal complementary feeding practices affect over half of children aged 6-23 months.
- Low minimum meal frequency (52%) and dietary diversity (29%) contribute to stunting, particularly in the first thousand days.
- Significant regional and intra-regional disparities exist in achieving adequate complementary feeding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize scientific evidence on complementary feeding.
- To review global experiences and practices in improving complementary feeding.
- To inform context-specific strategies for enhancing complementary feeding.
Main Methods:
- Convened a global meeting on complementary feeding (First Foods, November 2015).
- Synthesized biological and implementation science.
- Reviewed practical experiences and consolidated evidence.
Main Results:
- Identified critical gaps in global complementary feeding practices.
- Highlighted the urgency of improving nutrition in the first thousand days.
- Provided a platform for sharing best practices and evidence.
Conclusions:
- Improving complementary feeding is an urgent global health priority.
- Evidence-based, context-specific strategies are essential for success.
- Collaborative efforts are needed to accelerate progress in infant and young child feeding.