Growth of infants during the first 18 months of life in urban and rural areas of southern China.

OBJECTIVE: Observe the growth pattern of infants from birth to 18 months. METHODOLOGY: A prospective study was conducted from 1994 to 1996 in urban and township-rural areas of Guangdong Province, southern China, recruiting 568 and 257 newborn infants, respectively. Anthropometric data was collected at birth, 1.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 18 months. RESULTS: The urban infants at birth had Z-scores of weight for age (WAZ), height for age (HAZ) and weight for height (WHZ) below the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) median (P < 0.01). However, from 1.5 to 4 months, the WAZ and WHZ scores were above (P < 0.01), but by 7 months fell and remained at - 0.7 to - 0.8 SD below the NCHS median (P < 0.01). HAZ scores improved after birth, were at the NCHS median to 8 months (P = NS), and then decreased to 0.2-0.4 SD below the NCHS median (P < 0.01). Compared with the urban infants, the township-rural infants were lighter and shorter throughout the first 18 months of life, and from 8 months of age, were - 1 SD or more below the NCHS median. CONCLUSIONS: Growth retardation was found in this sample of Chinese infants. The magnitude of growth retardation was greater for infants in the township-rural area compared with those in the urban area.

Growth of infants and children in China.

Growth of China s infants and children has improved since the introduction of economic reforms. After 1979, secular increases in both weight and length have been observed. In certain industrial centers, infant lengths have caught up to international standards. Overall prevalence of underweight and stunting have declined. However, the health benefits from economic growth have not been shared equally among the Chinese population. There remain large disparities in the standard of health delivered to different sectors of the Chinese population. Rural children and children of minority nationalities continue to suffer from malnutrition and thus lower growth as compared to urban children. Economic reform has also changed the Chinese diet. Infant and child obesity is rising. Therefore, although economic reform has stimulated improvements in the growth of China s children, continued development and attention is needed in disadvantaged areas and populations. Public education is also necessary for China s children to avoid the diet-related diseases frequently seen in the west.

Growth of breast-fed infants deviates from current reference data: a pooled analysis of US, Canadian, and European data sets. World Health Organization Working Group on Infant Growth.

OBJECTIVE: To compare growth patterns of a large sample of breast-fed infants with the current World Health Organization (WHO)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference data. METHODS: Data from seven longitudinal studies of infant growth in North America and northern Europe were pooled (n = 453 breast-fed infants). Weight, length and head circumference were compared with the WHO/CDC reference, and repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine associations between growth patterns and breast-feeding duration, age of introduction of solid foods, and use of other milks. RESULTS: In comparison with WHO/CDC reference data, infants breast-fed for at least 12 months (n = 226) grew more rapidly in the first 2 months and less rapidly (particularly in weight) from 3 to 12 months; the mean z score at 12 months was -0.53 for weight for age, -0.29 for length for age, and -0.32 for weight for length. In contrast, mean head circumference was well above the WHO/CDC median throughout the first year of life. These patterns were generally consistent across studies. In the full sample (n = 453), a longer duration of breast-feeding was associated with a greater decline in weight for age and weight for length but not length for age. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that if growth charts are to reflect patterns consistent with those of infants following WHO feeding recommendations, new reference data based on breast-fed infants are needed.

Monthly growth status from a longitudinal study of Canadian infants.

Reference data for weight, recumbent length and head circumference at 1-month intervals from 1 through 18 months have been developed from measurements of 351 healthy infants born at term in Montreal or Toronto. Each infant was measured serially from 1 to 18 months. A 3-parameter mathematical model was fitted to the serial data for each infant. The model fitted the serial data well for almost all the infants as evaluated by the residual mean square errors. Subsequently, values were estimated for each month of age from 1 through 18 months for each infant. These estimated values allowed the development of reference data that have been presented in tables and in graphs.

Health professionals as sources of infant nutrition information for Metropolitan Toronto mothers.

Guidelines for professionals counselling mothers of newborns and infants were established by the Canadian Pediatric Society's Nutrition Committee in 1979. To determine the role of health professionals in providing infant nutrition information, 404 mothers of infants were interviewed between July 1984 and February 1985 in Metropolitan Toronto. Their primary sources for information on infant nutrition were prenatal classes, hospitals (post-delivery), and public health nurses, family physicians and pediatricians, postnatally. Dietitian/nutritionists, family physicians, pediatricians and public health nurses were considered reliable sources. However, the information required and desired was not consistently provided in either a comprehensive or appropriate format, suggesting that health professionals have an opportunity to improve in meeting their responsibilities to provide information to mothers on the topic of infant nutrition.

Sources of energy and nutrients in diets of the elderly living in Toronto.

The contribution of the various food groups to the nutrient intakes of a group of independently-living elderly individuals in Toronto is described. The pattern of meal and food intakes generally provided enough of the nutrients, excepting calcium, to meet the Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Canadians. Mean energy intake was low. It is suggested that if relatively small amounts of the foods ingested at the different meals are raised, it will likely provide enough energy and all the nutrients to satisfy the recommended levels of intake.

Nutrient intakes of a group of independently-living elderly individuals in Toronto.

A cross-sectional survey of an age-stratified random sample of 619 independently-living adults (307 males, 312 females) aged 60 years and over, living in Toronto was conducted. Detailed dietary data was collected from three sets of 3-day food records. The mean energy and nutrient intakes appeared to be adequate. However the energy intake of many participants was low, while their fat intake was high. The nutrients of concern for inadequate intakes were calcium, vitamin D and vitamin A. Intakes of zinc, vitamin C and protein were low for a smaller group. Nutrition education is recommended to provide guidance for choosing healthy diets.

Infant feeding practices: 1984-85 versus 1977-78.

In 1979 and 1980 the Canadian Paediatric Society's Nutrition Committee published guidelines for professionals counselling mothers of infants on feeding practices. The practices in 1984-85 of mothers in Toronto were determined for comparison with the practices identified in a similar study conducted in Toronto and Montreal in 1977-78 to ascertain if practices had changed in favour of the recommendations. Between July 1984 and February 1985, 404 metropolitan Toronto mothers of infants were interviewed. Compared with the 1977-78 group of mothers, more of the 1984-85 mothers had chosen to breast-feed and fewer had stopped breast-feeding in the first month. As well, fewer of the 1984-85 infants had been fed unmodified cow's milk in the first 6 months of life and introduced to solid foods before 4 months of age. We conclude that major changes in infant feeding practices had occurred since 1977-78 and that the 1984-85 practices corresponded closely to the infant feeding guidelines.

Dietary intakes of preschoolers.

Between 1977 and 1979, the H.J. Heinz Company of Canada Ltd conducted a longitudinal survey of infant nutrition from birth to 18 months. In 1980, 189 of the original 403 infants were recruited in a follow-up study. The age of the children in the follow-up study was 3.5 to 4 years. This article describes the food and nutrient intakes of the preschool children. Food intake information was obtained by the 4-day dietary record method. The mean energy intake of the children was adequate to support normal growth. The mean nutrient intakes were above the recommended daily intakes of the Canadian Dietary Standard. All children ate three regular meals and at least one in-between meal snack. Milk was the primary source of energy, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and riboflavin. Meat contributed a substantial amount of protein, fat, and niacin. Cereal and cereal products were the primary source of iron and were good sources of carbohydrates, sodium, and the B vitamins. Fruit and fruit juices were the primary sources of carbohydrate and vitamin C. Vitamin supplements provided large amounts of vitamin A and the B vitamins. Since foods alone included sufficient nutrients to provide the recommended daily nutrient intakes, vitamin supplements were largely unnecessary.

Nutritional adequacy of commercial baby foods.

The nutritional adequacy of commercial baby foods is assessed from data derived from a longitudinal nutrition survey of 400 infants in Canada. On the average, the nutrient intakes from infant food meet or exceed the recommended daily allowances for most nutrients. Most infants would not be able to meet the minimum daily requirements for iron, B vitamins, or calcium if infant cereals were not fortified.

Sodium intakes of infants from 1 to 18 months of age.

The daily sodium content in the diets of infants was determined. Milk and milk products were the main contributor of sodium during early infancy. Commercial baby foods contributed little sodium. As table foods were introduced, the daily sodium intake of the infants rose dramatically. The main sources of sodium in table foods were salt-containing canned foods and added table salt.

Iron intake of infants: the importance of infant cereals.

Since 1976 many baby foods have been reformulated and the iron used to fortify infant cereals has been changed to a more bioavailable form. Therefore, the dietary intake of iron by infants from 1 to 18 months of age was assessed in a longitudinal survey conducted in Toronto and Montreal between 1977 and 1979. Except in the 1st and 18th months the mean daily iron consumption of the infants was above that recommended in the Dietary Standard for Canada. The main source of this nutrient was infant cereals. Examination of the diets of the infants who did not have the recommended daily intake of iron showed that they did not consume sufficient amounts of infant cereals and other iron-rich foods. These results indicate that without such cereals it is difficult to provide infants with the amount of iron they need. Therefore, infants should receive these cereals during the first 2 years of life.

Infant fatness and feeding practices: a longitudinal assessment.

In recent years, bottle feeding and the early introduction of solid foods in infants' diets have been proposed as factors contributing to overweight in infancy that might continue into childhood. These hypotheses were examined in a longitudinal survey of 403 infants from birth to 18 months of age. Results from this survey do not support either (a) a relationship between type of milk feeding or time of introduction of solid food and fatness at 6 months of age or (b) the hypothesis that fat infants remain fat.

Effects of administration of cannabis resin during pregnancy on emotionality and learning in rats' offspring.

Injection of cannabis resin as a saline-Tween 80 solution to pregnant rats resulted in pups having lower body weight, higher emotionality, poorer learning capacity, and paradoxically higher brain weight and DNA content. The cannabis appeared directly to have caused the inferior growth rate of the pups which in turn affected emotionality and learning.