Assessment of dietary intakes and feeding practices in children aged 6–23 months in a town in the Northeast region of Argentina

Abstract

Introduction. An adequate quantity and quality of complementary feeding is essential during the first 2 years of life. The objective of this study was to assess dietary intakes and feeding practices in children aged 6–23 months in a town in the Northeast region of Argentina. Population and methods. Descriptive, cross-sectional study (second semester of 2019). Intakes from 24-hour dietary recall interviews conducted among caregivers of children aged 6–23 months were assessed. Data were compared to dietary reference intakes. Feeding practices were assessed as per the World Health Organization’s indicators. Results. A total of 138 children aged 6–23 months were assessed. The mean adequacy ratio of energy and vitamins A, D, and E was below 100% for all ages, whereas the protein adequacy for children aged 7-12 and 13-23 months was 142.8% and 168.1%, respectively. A remarkable number of cases had energy and vitamin A intakes below the estimated average requirement. In relation to feeding practice indicators, 50.8% of infants received a minimum acceptable diet. Conclusions. There is a high prevalence of an inadequate level of energy and critical nutrient intake during complementary feeding of the children aged 6–23 months included in the study. Nutritional interventions that promote feeding practices to improve micronutrient intake would be highly important for children’s current and future health.