BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life. Our objective was to evaluate trends in infant nutrition in Saudi Arabia and the degree of compliance with WHO recommendations.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:A nationwide nutritional survey of a sample of Saudi households was selected by the multistage probability sampling procedure. A validated questionnaire was administered to mothers of children less than 3 years of age.RESULTS:Of 5339 children in the sample, 4889 received breast milk at birth indicating a prevalence of initiation of 91.6%. Initiation of breastfeeding was delayed beyond 6 hours after birth in 28.1% of the infants. Bottle feeding was introduced by 1 month of age to 2174/4260 (51.4%) and to 3831/4260 (90%) by 6 months of age. The majority of infants 3870/4787 (80.8%) were introduced to “solid foods” between 4 to 6 months of age and whole milk feedings were given to 40% of children younger than 12 months of age.CONCLUSIONS:The current practice of feeding of Saudi infants is very far from compliance with even the most conservative WHO recommendations of exclusive breastfeeding for 4 to 6 months. The high prevalence of breastfeeding initiation at birth indicates the willingness of Saudi mothers to breastfeed. However, early introduction of complementary feedings reduced the period of exclusive breastfeeding. Research in infant nutrition should be a public health priority to improve the rate of breastfeeding and to minimize other inappropriate practices.

Background/Aim:To examine the liver size in Saudi children and adolescents.Methods:A large sample of children was selected from the general population by multistage random probability sampling for the assessment of physical growth. A random subsample of children–newborns to 18 years old–was taken from this larger sample for this study. Liver size below the costal margin and liver span along the midclavicular line were determined by physicians. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and medians and standard deviations were calculated.Results:Between 2004 and 2005, 18 112 healthy children up to 18 years of age were examined. All were term and appropriate for gestational age. There were 9 130 boys and 8 982 girls, yielding a nearly 1:1 male to female ratio. The maximum palpable liver size below the costal margin was 2.4 cm. The median and + 2 SD liver span at birth were 4 and 6.9 cm, respectively. There was no difference in the liver span between boys and girls of up to 60 months of age. Thereafter, a difference could be seen increasing with age, with girls having smaller liver spans than boys.Conclusion:This manuscript reports the liver size in Saudi children and adolescents. The data should help physicians in the interpretation of liver size determined by physical examination of children and adolescents.