IMPLICATIONS OF THE WEANING PATTERN ON MACRONUTRIENT INTAKE, FOOD VOLUME AND ENERGY DENSITY IN NON-BREAST-FED INFANTS DURING THE FIRST-YEAROF LIFE

Objectives: To evaluate the implications of the patterns of weaning on the intake of macronutrients, energy intake, food volume and the ener gy density in healthy infants in the Mediterranean area of Spain. Subj ects and study design: Cross-sectional study of 120 clinically-healthy , non-breastfed infants at the ages of 4, 6, 9 and 12 months randomly recruited from three pediatric out-patient clinics. Nutrition data wer e obtained from the infant's food preparer using the 24-hour dietary r ecall method. Results: Energy intake/kg body weight was within the rec ommended daily allowance and did not vary significantly with age (423 kJ/kg body weight at 4 months and 443.7 kJ/kg at 12 months). There was a progressive decrease in the intake volume (p<0.001) in which carboh ydrate-rich foodstuffs were the major factors, and an increase in the energy density (p<0.001) in which the protein-rich items were the prin cipal contributors. Lipid intake diminished progressively (p<0.01) to a nadir of 26.4% of energy intake at 9 months of age. In each of the m eals there was a tendency towards a progressive increase in energy int ake with age. This increase was achieved by a significant increase in energy density (p<0.001 in all meals, except dinner p<0.05). Conversel y, the intake volume of breakfast, lunch and dinner remained essential ly unchanged between 6 and 12 months while that of the mid-evening mea l decreased markedly. Conclusion: Increased energy requirements for gr owth is achieved, mainly, by an increase in the energy density rather than the intake volume during food-item diversification in the non-bre astfed infant. Cereals were the central food item in the weaning diet in our study sample and which adequately compensates, in terms of ener gy requirement, for the early reliance on the lipids contained in milk .