Late introduction and poor diversity were the main weaknesses of complementary foods in a cohort study in rural Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE: In developing countries, the complementary feeding period is critical to the growth of children, notably because of inappropriate complementary feeding practices. A longitudinal study was carried out in a food vulnerable area in Burkina Faso to better understand and describe these practices. METHODS: A cohort of 114 children was followed at the ages of 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 mo. At each visit details on the complementary foods (CF) were recorded and intakes were measured by direct weighing. RESULTS: At 6 mo of age all infants were breastfed and 61% were still breastfed at 24 mo. Infants not receiving any CF were 97% at enrollment, 53% at 9 mo, and 11% at 12 mo (mean age of introduction = 9.2 +/- 1.7 mo). Porridge was the type of CF introduced first (46%) but was of poor diversity; special dishes were less often given but did contain more numerous ingredients. However, less than half of the children received the recommended minimum of four different food groups/d before being 2 y old. At 12 mo and after, more than 75% of the children had at least 3 meals/d. Quantities of CF consumed increased from 133 +/- 121 g/d (19 +/- 17 g per kg of body weight/d) at 9 mo to 480 +/- 237 g/d (49 +/- 25 g/kg/d) at 24 mo (for breastfed children). CONCLUSION: Late introduction of CF and poor diversity of ingredients, more than quantity of food, were the main weaknesses observed in this context. At least part of these issues can be addressed through educational activities.

Effects of the duration of the habituation period on energy intakes from low and high energy density gruels by Burkinabè infants living in free conditions.

The present study was carried out in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) with the aim of determining if the duration of the habituation period (1, 5 or 10 days) to low and high energy density gruels affected the amounts consumed or the energy intakes from gruels consumed by 6-9-month-old infants. Thirty infants were chosen randomly among the eligible children in the study area and randomly assigned to two groups (S1 and S2). Each infant was given successively for 10 consecutive days two experimental gruels, each type of gruel being fed twice a day. The 15 infants in group S1 received low energy density gruel (G1) in the first period and high energy density gruel (G2) in the second, and the 15 infants in group S2 received G2 in the first period and G1 in the second. The two periods of 10 days were separated by 4 days during which the infant received his or her usual foods. The intakes of experimental gruels and other complementary foods were measured on days 1, 5 and 10 of each period. Whatever the type of gruel, the 10-day period of habituation did not result in an increase in the amounts consumed or in the energy intakes from these gruels. The amounts of G1 consumed on day 5 were significantly higher than those of G2 (9.0 vs 6.8 g/kg/meal; p = 0.044). Energy intakes from G2 were significantly higher than those from G1 on days 1 (28.8 vs 18.0 kJ/kg/meal; p = 0.0002), 5 (28.8 vs 19.2 kJ/kg/meal; p = 0.002) and 10 (25.9 vs 15.5 kJ/kg/meal; p = 0.0004). Daily frequencies of breastfeeding (approximately 5.6), water drinking (approximately 3.7) and meals with foods other than experimental gruels were relatively high and did not vary with the duration of the habituation period or the type of gruels. Whatever the type of gruel, the increase in the duration of the habituation period did not increase the amount consumed or energy intakes. The study confirmed that consumption of high energy density gruels led to a 60% increase in energy intakes in comparison with the consumption of low energy density gruels.