Maternal dietary counseling reduces consumption of energy-dense foods among infants: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a dietary counseling in reducing the intake of energy-dense foods by infants.

Design: A randomized controlled trial.

Setting and participants: São Leopoldo, Brazil. Mothers and infants of a low-income-group population were randomized into intervention (n = 163) and received dietary counseling during 10 home visits, or control (n = 234) groups.

Main outcomes measures: Child consumption of sugar-dense (SD) and lipid-dense (LD) foods at 12 to 16 months.

Analysis: The effect of the intervention was expressed by relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the association between exclusive breastfeeding and the energy-dense foods intake.

Results: A smaller proportion of infants from the intervention group consumed candy, soft drinks, honey, cookies, chocolate, and salty snacks. In the intervention group, there was a reduction of 40% and 50% in the proportion of infants who consumed LD and SD foods, respectively. Being breastfed up to 6 months reduced the risk for consumption of LD and SD foods by 58% and 67%, respectively.

Conclusions and implications: Dietary counseling to mothers may be effective in reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods among infants, and it is helpful in improving early dietary habits.