Weaning practices in children up to 19 months of age in Madrid

The weaning practices of 344 children in Madrid, aged 3-19 months, were investigated by controlled interview of their mothers or caretakers. The results were compared with national and international guidelines for the introduction of complementary foods; there are no Spanish guidelines. We found only minor differences between the practices in three different socioeconomic groups. Generally, mothers in Madrid followed national and international guidelines well. However, more attention should be paid to aspects such as the timing of the introduction of the first complementary food, the nature of gluten, the addition of salt and sugar to baby meals and the introduction of potentially allergenic foods. Also, manufacturers of baby foods that are sold in Spain could play a useful role by reducing the number of ingredients used in products advised for the initial phase of weaning and by avoiding the use of salt and sugar in their products.