Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jul 5;15(13):3041.
doi: 10.3390/nu15133041.

Dietary Strategies for Complementary Feeding between 6 and 24 Months of Age: The Evidence

Leila Harrison  1 , Zahra Padhani  2 , Rehana Salam  3 , Christina Oh  1 , Komal Rahim  4 , Maria Maqsood  1 , Anna Ali  2 , Kimberly Charbonneau  1 , Emily C Keats  1 , Zohra S Lassi  2   5 , Aamer Imdad  6 , Aatekah Owais  1 , Jai Das  7 , Zulfiqar A Bhutta  1   7
Affiliations
Review

Dietary Strategies for Complementary Feeding between 6 and 24 Months of Age: The Evidence

Leila Harrison et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Suboptimal complementary feeding practices remain highly prevent. This review aims to comprehensively synthesize new emerging evidence on a set of topics related to the selection and consumption of complementary foods. We synthesized evidence related to five key topics focused on nutritional interventions that target the complementary feeding period, based on four systematic reviews that include updated evidence to February 2022. While there have been many studies examining interventions during the complementary feeding period, there is an overall lack of relevant information through which to draw conclusions on the ideal feeding schedule by food type. Similarly, few studies have examined the effects of animal milk versus infant formula for non-breastfed infants (6-11 months), though those that did found a greater risk of anemia among infants who were provided cow's milk. This review highlights a number of interventions that are successful at improving micronutrient status and anthropometry during the complementary feeding period, including fortified blended foods, locally and commercially produced supplementary foods, and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements. Complementary feeding education for caregivers can also be used to improve nutrition outcomes among infants in both food secure and insecure populations.

Keywords: complementary feeding; infants; young child.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Key Recommendations for Complementary Feeding [10,11].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot for cow’s milk vs. infant formula on anemia.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot for egg consumption vs. control on stunting.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot for three types of animal-sourced foods (ASF) vs. two types of ASF on stunting.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot for two types of animal-sourced foods (ASF) vs. one type of ASF on stunting.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest plot for three types of animal-sourced foods (ASF) vs. one type of ASF on stunting.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Fortified blended foods vs. control on stunting.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Fortified blended foods vs. control on anemia.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Commercially produced ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSF) vs. control on stunting.
Figure 10
Figure 10
SQ-LNS vs. control on iron deficiency anemia.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Provision of complementary foods vs. control on stunting, by food security status.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Provision of complementary foods vs. control on anemia, by food security status.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Complementary feeding education vs. control on stunting.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Complementary feeding education vs. control on stunting, by food security status.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Complementary feeding education vs. control on anemia, by food security status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Dewey K., Brown K. Update on technical issues concerning complementary feeding of young children in developing countries and implications for intervention programs. Food Nutr. Bull. 2003;24:5–28. doi: 10.1177/156482650302400102. - DOI - PubMed
    1. UNICEF . Improving Young Children’s Diets during the Complementary Feeding Period. UNICEF Programming Guidance; New York, NY, USA: 2020.
    1. WHO Complementary Feeding. [(accessed on 3 May 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/health-topics/complementary-feeding#tab=tab_1.
    1. Issaka A., Agho K., Page A., Burns P., Stevens G., Dibley M. The problem of suboptimal complementary feeding practices in West Africa: What is the way forward? Matern. Child Nutr. 2015;11((Suppl. S1)):53–60. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12195. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lartey A. Matern and child nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and interventions. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 2008;67:105–108. doi: 10.1017/S0029665108006083. - DOI - PubMed