[The WHO Child Growth Standards for children under 5 years]. / Verdens helseorganisasjons nye vekststandard for barn under fem år.

BACKGROUND: In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the new global WHO Child Growth Standards for children under five years. The rationale for developing this new growth standard was that a review of the NCHS/WHO-reference, which had been recommended for international use since 1978, showed that the growth of breast-fed infants deviated negatively from this reference. Most children included in the NCHS/WHO-reference from 1978 were fed mainly with infant formula. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A growth reference describes HOW: children without a diagnosed disease grow. The WHO Child Growth Standards document how children SHOULD: grow when they are raised in healthy environments, are breastfed and not exposed to tobacco through their mother. The standard was developed on the basis of a multi-ethnic sample with participants from Norway, USA, Brazil, Oman, Ghana and India. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: The WHO Child Growth Standards describe how healthy children grow when key health and environmental needs are met. The new growth standards documents that children with different ethnic backgrounds grow very similarly under equal conditions. The WHO Child Growth Standards are an important tool for prevention and early recognition of overweight, as well as growth faltering and wasting.

Breast-feeding at 12 months of age and dietary habits among breast-fed and non-breast-fed infants.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse factors associated with breast-feeding and use of sweetened drinks at 12 months, and to compare dietary habits among breast-fed and non-breast-fed infants. DESIGN: Data were collected by a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire filled in by the parents. SETTING: National dietary survey in Norway. SUBJECTS: In total, 1932 12-month-old infants were included. RESULTS: At 12 months, 36% of the infants were breast-fed. The odds of breast-feeding at this age were more than doubled both for mothers > or =35 years compared with mothers <25 years and for mothers in the highest educational group compared with mothers in the lowest. A negative association was found for maternal smoking, and the odds of breast-feeding were 40% lower for mothers who smoked than for non-smokers. Some dietary differences were observed between breast-fed and non-breast-fed infants apart from intake of milk. In particular, breast-fed infants had a significantly lower daily intake of sweetened drinks than non-breast-fed infants and a 16% lower mean daily intake of added sugars (P<0.001). Furthermore, breast-fed infants had 30% higher odds of not receiving sweetened drinks daily, compared with non-breast-fed infants. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal age, education and smoking status were important factors for breast-feeding at 12 months. Breast-fed infants had lower intakes of sweetened drinks and added sugars than non-breast-fed infants. From a public health perspective, continued promotion of breast-feeding is needed to reduce inequalities in breast-feeding. Moreover, prevention of high intakes of sweetened drinks and added sugars should start in infancy.