Food and nutrient intakes of 9-month-old infants in Adelaide, Australia

Objective: To describe the food and nutrient intakes of 9-month-old infants. Design: A survey undertaken as part of a longitudinal study of child growth and development. Infant diet was characterised through a structured interview in which consumption frequency and portion size of foods were obtained. This method was compared with a 4 d diary and had adequate relative validity. Setting: Adelaide, Australia. Subjects: Three hundred and forty-one infants for whom dietary data were plausible according to pre-specified criteria. Results: At 9 months of age, the median body weights for 161 girls and 180 boys were 8.8 and 9.6 kg, respectively. Differences in intakes between boys and girls largely reflected differences in size. Median daily energy intake was 3541 kJ and median contributions of protein, fat and carbohydrate to total energy were 13 %, 36% and 50 %. Using published Estimated Average Requirements, Zn intake was inadequate for ,1% of children not breast-fed at this age while Fe intake was inadequate for 9%. Infants who were still breast-fed (35 %) had more diversity in the foods that provided additional energy, compared with those not receiving breast milk, and were less likely to consume nutrient-displacing drinks such as juice or cordial. Cow’s milk was the main drink for 5% of infants. Conclusions: In a group of Australian-born children, an important proportion had weaning diets that were low in Fe. Fat intake of many children was below current recommendations and cow’s milk was the main milk source for a small minority.Jennifer A Conn, Michael J Davies, Ruth B Walker and Vivienne M Moor