This position paper considers different aspects of complementary feeding (CF), focussing on healthy term infants in Europe. After reviewing current knowledge and practices, we have formulated these ...

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Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committee on Nutrition.

Infant feeding survey.

a abstract OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the sodium and sugar content of US commercial infant and toddler foods. METHODS: We used a 2012 nutrient database of 1074 US infant and toddler foods and drinks developed from a commercial database, manufacturer Web sites, and major grocery stores. Products were categorized on the basis of their main ingredients and the US Food and Drug Administration's reference amounts customarily consumed per eating occasion (RACC). Sodium and sugar contents and presence of added sugars were determined. RESULTS:All but 2 of the 657 infant vegetables, dinners, fruits, dry cereals, and ready-to-serve mixed grains and fruits were low sodium (#140 mg/RACC). The majority of these foods did not contain added sugars; however, 41 of 79 infant mixed grains and fruits contained $1 added sugar, and 35 also contained .35% calories from sugar. Seventy-two percent of 72 toddler dinners were high in sodium content (.210 mg/RACC). Toddler dinners contained an average of 2295 mg of sodium per 1000 kcal (sodium 212 mg/100 g). Savory infant/toddler snacks (n = 34) contained an average of sodium 1382 mg/1000 kcal (sodium 486 mg/100 g); 1 was high sodium. Thirty-two percent of toddler dinners and the majority of toddler cereal bars/breakfast pastries, fruit, and infant/toddler snacks, desserts, and juices contained $ 1a dded sugar. CONCLUSIONS: Commercial toddler foods and infant or toddler snacks, desserts, and juice drinks are of potential concern due to sodium or sugar content. Pediatricians should advise parents to look carefully at labels when selecting commercial toddler foods and to limit salty snacks, sweet desserts, and juice drinks.

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/135/3/416.full.pdf

Sodium and Sugar in Complementary Infant and Toddler Foods Sold in the United States

Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to introducing solid foods that relies on the presence of self-feeding skills and is increasing in popularity in the UK and New Zealand. This study aimed to investigate the reported experiences and feelings of mothers using a BLW approach in order to better understand the experiences of the mother and infant, the benefits and challenges of the approach, and the beliefs that underpin these experiences. Fifteen UK mothers were interviewed over the course of a series of five emails using a semi-structured approach. The email transcripts were anonymised and analysed using thematic analysis. There were four main themes identified from the analysis: (1) trusting the child; (2) parental control and responsibility; (3) precious milk; and (4) renegotiating BLW. The themes identified reflect a range of ideals and pressures that this group of mothers tried to negotiate in order to provide their infants with a positive and healthy introduction to solid foods. One of the key issues of potential concern is the timing at which some of the children ingested complementary foods. Although complementary foods were made available to the infants at 6 months of age, in many cases they were not ingested until much later. These findings have potentially important implications for mother's decision-making, health professional policy and practice, and future research.

Experiences of baby-led weaning: trust, control and renegotiation.

Infancy and old age are two crucial periods in the human life span. During infancy, early exposure to a large variety of flavor and texture plays a key role in shaping food acceptability and later eating habits. In elderly people, food history is one of the major determinants of food choice. In both populations, sensory and oral motor skills are important determinants of food choice. During eating, the formation of a food bolus that can be safely swallowed is a complex oral process, and the oral capacity to perform this process impacts directly food acceptability or rejection both in infants or elderly. Food liking in elderly is also impacted by chemosensory impairment. The specificities of these populations imply to conduct active researches aiming at proposing novel food products better adapted to them but also guidelines to caregivers who are widely involved in their feeding practices.

Behavioral and physiological determinants of food choice and consumption at sensitive periods of the life span, a focus on infants and elderly

Background and aims Health professionals are frequently asked to advise on aspects of complementary feeding. This study aimed to describe the types of commercial infant foods available in the UK and provide an overview of their taste, texture and nutritional content in terms of energy, protein, carbohydrates, fat, sugar, iron, sodium and calcium. Method All infant foods produced by four main UK manufacturers and two more specialist suppliers were identified during October 2010–February 2011. Nutritional information for each product was collected from manufacturers’ websites, products in store and via direct email enquiry. Results Of the 479 products identified in this study 364 (79%) were ready-made spoonable foods; 44% (201) were aimed at infants from 4 months, and 65% of these were sweet foods. The mean (SD) energy content of ready-made spoonable foods was 282 (59) kJ per 100 g, almost identical to breast milk (283(16) kJ per 100 g). Similar spoonable family foods were more nutrient dense than commercial foods. Commercial finger foods were more energy dense, but had very high sugar content. Conclusions The UK infant food market mainly supplies sweet, soft, spoonable foods targeted from age 4 months. The majority of products had energy content similar to breast milk and would not serve the intended purpose of enhancing the nutrient density and diversity of taste and texture in infants’ diets.

https://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/98/10/793.full.pdf

Sarah Raza

Papers

Nutritional content of infant commercial weaning foods in the UK