Promotion and consumption of commercially produced foods among children: situation analysis in an urban setting in Senegal

Abstract

This study assessed the promotion of commercially produced foods and consumption of these products by children less than 24 months of age in Dakar Department, Senegal. Interviews with 293 mothers of children attending child health clinics assessed maternal exposure to promotion and maternal recall of foods consumed by the child on the preceding day. Promotion of breastmilk substitutes and commercially produced complementary foods outside health facilities was common with 41.0% and 37.2% of mothers, respectively, reporting product promotions since the birth of their youngest child. Promotion of commercially produced snack food products was more prevalent, observed by 93.5% of mothers. While all mothers reported having breastfed their child, only 20.8% of mothers breastfed their newborn within the first hour after delivery, and 44.7% fed pre‐lacteal feeds in the first 3 days after delivery. Of children 6–23 months of age, 20.2% had consumed a breastmilk substitute; 49.1% ate a commercially produced complementary food, and 58.7% ate a commercially produced snack food product on the previous day. There is a need to stop the promotion of breastmilk substitutes, including infant formula, follow‐up formula, and growing‐up milks. More stringent regulations and enforcement could help to eliminate such promotion to the public through the media and in stores. Promotion of commercial snack foods is concerning, given the high rates of consumption of such foods by children under the age of 2 years. Efforts are needed to determine how best to reduce such promotion and encourage replacement of these products with more nutritious foods.

Violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast‐milk Substitutes in Mexico

“…Although not explicitly a Code violation, a large number of health providers in Mexico (30.5%) recommend infant formulas, far more than would be expected for the small number of women who for medical reasons should use infant formula. Similar results were reported in Cambodia (Pries et al, ) and Senegal (Feeley et al, ). As recognized in the Coriolis report Infant Formula Value Chain (Coriolis, ), the major global multinationals direct a large part of their sales effort towards health providers rather than retailers.…”

“…Among the reported violations are those related to pregnant women and mothers of children aged between 6 and 24 months receiving free BMS samples (Access to Nutrition Foundation, ; Aguayo et al, ; Changing Markets Foundation, ; Ching & IBFAN‐ICDC, ; Taylor, ), in addition to health facilities receiving donations of BMS that were not used for research or professional purposes and having educational materials with BMS producer logos (Aguayo et al, ; Pries et al, ). Other studies have identified that promotion of BMS outside of health facilities is a common practice in Cambodia (Pries et al, ) and Senegal (Feeley et al, ), as is promotion within health facilities (Coriolis, ; Pries et al, ). BMS promotion at POS has been identified in Senegal, Cambodia, Nepal, and Tanzania (Champeny et al, ).…”

Perceptions of commercial snack food and beverages for infant and young child feeding: A mixed‐methods study among caregivers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

“…The influence of child preference on caregivers' use of snack food products for child feeding has been noted widely in literature across geographies (Almeida, Scagliusi, Duran, & Jaime, ; Angeles‐Agdeppa, Lana, & Barba, ; Babington & Patel, ; Feeley et al, ; Machín, Giménez, Curutchet, Martínez, and Ares (); Kavle et al, ; Pries, Huffman, Adhikary, et al, ; Pries, Huffman, Mengkheang, et al, ; Rahman et al, ; Verma & Punia, ; Vitta et al, ). Child preference was the most common reason reported by caregivers in this study; however, this response may serve as an initial catch‐all response.…”

Infant and young child feeding practices among children under 2 years of age and maternal exposure to infant and young child feeding messages and promotions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

“…The very low rates of maternal exposure to promotions of breastmilk substitutes and commercially produced complementary foods and the low rates of use of these products are likely related to Tanzania's strict regulations limiting their promotion [ Tanzania Food, Drugs and Cosmetics (Marketing of foods and designated products for infants and young children) Regulations, 2013; Government of Tanzania ]. In Senegal, where the promotion of breastmilk substitutes is allowed outside of the health system, breastmilk substitute use is more prevalent: about 10% of infants less than 6 months of age and 20% of 6–23‐month‐olds in Dakar received a breastmilk substitute on the day preceding the interview compared with 4% and 5%, respectively, in Dar es Salaam (Feeley et al In press).…”