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Healthy eating for infants--mothers' actions
B J Stordy1, A M Redfern, J B Morgan
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|July 1, 1995
Summary
Home-prepared infant foods often lack essential nutrients like energy, protein, and iron, while being high in sodium. Healthcare advice should address these nutritional gaps in weaning foods.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Food Chemistry
Background:
- Infant nutrition is critical for growth and development.
- Home-prepared weaning foods are common but their nutritional adequacy is often questioned.
- Existing guidelines and commercial baby foods provide benchmarks for nutrient content.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the nutrient composition of home-prepared infant foods.
- To compare these foods against European Commission directives, manufactured baby foods, and breast milk.
- To identify nutritional shortcomings in homemade infant diets.
Main Methods:
- Chemical analysis of 265 home-prepared weaning food samples from infants aged 3-12 months.
- Evaluation of energy density, protein, fat, carbohydrate, non-starch polysaccharides, and key micronutrients.
- Comparative analysis against regulatory standards and commercial products.
Main Results:
- Many home-prepared samples were deficient in energy, protein, fat, iron, calcium, and zinc.
- Elevated levels of non-starch polysaccharides and sodium were frequently observed.
- Significant nutritional gaps exist in commonly prepared infant foods.
Conclusions:
- Home-prepared infant foods often present nutritional inadequacies.
- Dietary advice should focus on improving the nutrient density and balance of homemade weaning foods.
- Consideration of commercial baby foods' nutritional profiles may be beneficial.