Feeding Patterns of Infants and Toddlers: The Mexico Case Study

Understanding the feeding patterns of Mexican infants and toddlers has required large efforts due to the lack of recent reliable data. The double burden of obesity and micronutrient undernutrition is a public health problem in Mexico. This chapter reviews a series of papers reporting the FITS (Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study) Mexico effort. Secondary data analyses from a nationally representative sample of over 5,000 children from the Mexican National Nutrition and Health Study 2012 ENSANUT (Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición) were used to review the feeding and drinking patterns of Mexican infants and young children. Feeding patterns in Mexican children are established early in life. Low rates of exclusive breastfeeding were found in infants under 6 months of age. Only half of 6- to 47.9-month-old children consumed fruits, and 80% did not consume any vegetables (including potatoes) on the day of the survey. From the age of 12 months, more than 80% consumed sweets or sweetened beverages on any given day. For nutrients, 61% of infants 6-11.9 months old did not meet the estimated average requirement for iron, indicating a nutritional risk. High intakes of food groups with poor micronutrient and high energy levels might explain the nutritional condition for the Mexican population. Mexican experts have used this information to make recommendations and establish complementary feeding guidelines for healthy infants. Public policy and practice must now change accordingly.