title: Growth patterns of breast-fed infants in affluent (United States) and poor (Peru) communities: implications for timing of complementary feeding.
abstract: We compared growth, dietary intake, and morbidity of infants breast-fed for > or = 12 mo from two populations: Davis, CA (n = 46) and Huascar, Peru (n = 52). When compared against WHO reference data (based primarily on formula-fed infants), Huascar infants appeared to falter as early as 3-4 mo, but when compared with Davis breast-fed infants, the curves for weight and length were very similar in girls until 10-12 mo and in boys until 6-9 mo. Thereafter, Huascar infants grew less rapidly than did Davis infants. Breast milk intake was very similar between groups, but in Huascar the amount and nutrient density of complementary foods consumed after 6 mo were lower and morbidity rates were much higher than in Davis. These results indicate that growth faltering of Huascar infants, when judged against breast-fed infants in the United States, occurs primarily after the first 6 mo of life and is not due to poor lactation performance.
authors.affiliation: Program in International Nutrition, University of California, Davis 95616-8669.
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Dewey
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Peerson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Heinig
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Nommsen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lönnerdal
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lopez de Romaña
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: de Kanashiro
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human; D010568:Peru; D011203:Poverty; D014481:United States