Mexican Children under 2 Years of Age Consume Food Groups High in Energy and Low in Micronutrients

Abstract

Mexican children <24 mo of age do not consume a diet that meets recommendations, which is consistent with the high prevalence of malnutrition in Mexico.

Food Sources of Energy and Nutrients in Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012

“…These observations are very much aligned with previous findings that showed a high proportion of energy was provided by caloric beverages [12,33] and that added sugar consumption was high among Mexican children aged 1–4 years [16,18]. Our study provided further details as to what foods and beverages contributed to the high added sugar consumption and the relative role of each food.…”

“…Soups and stews were found to be top contributors to energy and almost all nutrients after milk including total fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Soups and stews are frequently consumed in this population [12,13]. Since soups and stews in Mexico typically contain meat (usually chicken), vegetables, and tortillas, it is understandable that these food mixtures can provide a wide range of nutrients.…”

“…As for young children, recent studies from the 2012 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición; ENSANUT 2012) have observed shortcomings in infant and child feeding practices [11]. Examples include a low prevalence of breastfeeding, low consumption of iron-rich foods, and high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and sweet foods [12,13]. These shortcomings very likely contribute to the imbalanced nutrient intakes reported in recent dietary surveys, including inadequate intakes of iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, and fiber and excessive intakes of energy, added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium [14,15,16,17,18].…”

“…Up to now, detailed quantitative analyses on the dietary sources of nutrients in Mexico have been lacking. One recent study conducted in Mexican children under two years of age reported food sources of energy but not nutrients [12]. To fill the knowledge gap, the aim of this study was to describe and identify the principal sources of energy and nutrients in the diets of infants, toddlers, and young children from the ENSANUT 2012.…”

Snack food and beverage consumption and young child nutrition in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review

“…Among South African 1‐ to 3‐year‐olds, those in the highest quartile of added sugar consumption (based on % TEI) had lower intakes of calcium, iron, and zinc, as compared with toddlers with lower % TEI from added sugar (Maunder, Nel, Steyn, Kruger, & Labadarios, ). Five studies in this review (Anderson et al, ; Jeharsae et al, ; Karnopp et al, ; Lander et al, ; Rodríguez‐Ramírez et al, ) noted % TEI from snack foods/SSB of approximately 20% or higher among children below 23 months of age, suggesting levels of consumption that could contribute to micronutrient dilution. It is also critical to note that this review did not identify any studies that explored the relationship between snack food/SSB consumption and reduced micronutrient intakes, dietary adequacy, or micronutrient status beyond anaemia.…”