Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods by Children Under 24 Months of Age and Associated Factors

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the intake of ultra-processed foods by children under 24 months of age from the city of Montes Claros and identify factors associated with this consumption. Methods: This is a population-based cross-sectional study with data collected from households through interviews. A questionnaire assessed the sociodemographic conditions of the family, maternal and child characteristics, and food consumption. We adopted a multivariate model to identify factors associated with the intake of ultra-processed foods. Results: A total of 545 children participated in this study, of whom 74.3% consumed some kind of ultra-processed food. The factors most strongly associated with this consumption were children older than six months, infants who were not breastfed, households with up to three residents, and the main caregiver of the child being someone other than the mother. Conclusions: Children under 24 months start consuming ultra-processed products at an early age, replacing foods considered natural and healthy. This study can contribute to guide health professionals in counseling families about feeding in the first years of life, emphasizing the proper introduction of complementary feeding and discouraging the consumption of ultra-processed products.

Infant Processed Food Consumption and their Interaction to Breastfeeding and Growth in Children up to Six Months Old

“…The factors most strongly associated with this early and large consumption of infants were maternal education and age, family income, number of past pregnancies, BF in the rst month of life and the main caregiver, not being the mother [27,28]. In the present study, the sample descriptive characteristics corroborated with the literature, on what Null score had higher family income in comparison to Moderate and Severe scores, as well as did Mild score in relation to Severe.…”

“…In this survey sample, there were a large number of infants in Null, Moderate and Severe scores, demonstrating the current food situation. As in other studies [27,28], the early childhood eating practices con rmed to be inadequate, compared to the recommendations for this age group [20], when replacing foods considered natural and healthy for the processed ones. This high consumption by infants re ects on a nutritionally poor diet with high amounts of carbohydrates sugar, sodium, total and saturated fats and energy density, and low amounts of proteins, bers, vitamins and minerals [29].…”

Reply to Article: Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods by Children Under 24 Months of Age and Associated Factors

“…This study, carried out in the State of Minas Gerais, identified that 74.3% of the analyzed infants, mainly those aged more than 6 months, already consumed ultra-processed foods. 1 On the other hand, another study in the same State showed that exclusive breast feeding until the age of 6 months occurred only among 24.9% of the participants, and that only 49% of the mothers participated in groups about breast feeding. 2 Such data, found in different studies, agree that weaning is, in fact, early among Brazilian families.…”

“…Therefore, the rise of ultra-processed foods, especially in the diet of children aged under 24 months of age, played an essential role for the changes in dietary pattern, and can be attributed to several factors, such as the return of the maternal figure to the work place, and the consequent early weaning. 1 …”

Are the recommendations of paediatricians about complementary feeding aligned with current guidelines in Uruguay?

“…In addition, consumption of ultra-processed products has been recently identified as increasingly prevalent during complementary feeding (3,11) . Ultra-processed products are frequently consumed by a large proportion of children from an early age, replacing natural and healthy foods (12,13) . Results from a cross-sectional survey conducted in Cambodia, Nepal, Senegal and Tanzania showed that 16-23 % of children 6-23 months had consumed sugar-sweetened beverages the day prior to the interview (14) .…”