POTENTIAL FOR MISCLASSIFICATION OF INFANTS USUAL FEEDING PRACTICES USING 24-HOUR DIETARY ASSESSMENT METHODS

Feeding patterns of 131 low income Peruvian infants were assessed by 1 574 single-day studies (12-h observations plus 12-h recall) of dietary intake and by mothers' monthly reports of usual feeding practices to determine whether feeding pattern classification depends on the assess ment method used. Results suggest that single-day studies produce a di fferent view of feeding practices than do mothers' reports of usual be havior. Exclusive breast-feeding in infants younger than 4 mo was obse rved 25% more often than reported. Non-human milk consumption was repo rted 30% more often than observed. Disagreement between reported and o bserved practices was related by logistic regression analyses to mothe r's age and education, number of children younger than 5 y in the home and infant age and illness on the observation day. Most disagreement between reported and observed behavior could have been due to daily va riation in feeding practices. Consumption during the past 24 h should not be used alone as the basis for classifying infant feeding practice s in survey research.