Breast milk or animal-product foods improve linear growth of Peruvian toddlers consuming marginal diets.
Although breast-feeding is widely accepted as important for infant health, its benefits during the second year of life have been questioned. We analyzed data from 107 breast-fed and weaned Peruvian children living in a periurban community to determine whether breast milk contributed to improved linear growth between 12 and 15 mo of age. Breast-feeding frequency was self-reported; intakes of complementary foods and animal products were estimated from a food-frequency survey. Multivariate-linear-regression analysis was used to predict the length of the children at 15 mo of age. Determinants of length included length and weight-for-length at 12 mo of age (US National Center for Health Statistics standards), interval between 12- and 15-mo measurements, breast-feeding frequency, incidence of diarrhea, and intakes of complementary and animal-product foods. Complementary foods, animal-product foods, and breast milk all promoted toddlers' linear growth. In subjects with low intakes of animal-product foods, breast-feeding was positively associated (P < 0.05) with linear growth. There was a 0.5-cm/3 mo difference in linear growth between weaned toddlers and children who consumed the average number of feedings of breast milk. Linear growth was also positively associated with intake of animal-product foods in children with low intakes of complementary foods. The negative association between diarrhea and linear growth did not occur in subjects with high complementary-food intakes. When the family's diet is low in quality, breast milk is an especially important source of energy, protein, and accompanying micronutrients in young children. Thus, continued breast-feeding after 1 y of age, in conjunction with feeding of complementary foods, should be encouraged in toddlers living in poor circumstances.
Marquis
G S
GS
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. gmarquis@uab.edu
Habicht
J P
JP
Lanata
C F
CF
Black
R E
RE
Rasmussen
K M
KM
D000818:Animals; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002417:Cattle; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000453:epidemiology; D004034:Diet Surveys; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008460:Meat; D010568:Peru; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D011203:Poverty; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014505:Urban Population