Effects of different feeding patterns on physical and nutritional status of infants aged 6‒12 months

Objective To analyze the effects of different feeding patterns on the physical and nutritional status of children aged 6‒12 months， so as to provide reference for promoting scientific feeding and health development of infants and young children.

Methods Children born between December 2019 and February 2020 and who had completed three follow-up visits at 6‒， 9‒ （8‒10 months） and 12‒ （11‒14 months） months old in all of the 13 communities of Minhang， Shanghai were selected. The subjects’ basic information was investigated by questionnaires. The indicators including feeding pattern， physical development （body weight， body length， head circumference） and nutritional status （the detection rate of overweight， obesity， low body weight， growth retardation， emaciation and iron deficiency anemia） were followed up in the outpatient department， with iron deficiency anemia only monitored at the 6‒ and 12‒ months old. According to different feeding patterns， the groups of 6‒ months old were divided into three groups of exclusive breast feeding （EBF）， mixed feeding （MF） and artificial feeding （AF）， while 9‒ and 12‒ months old were divided into MF and AF groups. The differences of basic information and follow-up results among the groups were analyzed.

Results A total of 470 children were included， including 130 （27.66%）， 288 （61.28%） and 52 （11.06%） respectively in EBF， MF and AF groups at the 6‒ months old，and 319 （67.87%） and 196 （41.70%） in MF group at the 9‒ and 12‒ months old. There was no significant difference in the other follow-up results among the groups. The detection rate of iron deficiency anemia in 6‒ months old EBF （13.08%） was higher than that in MF group （5.90%） and AF group （1.92%） （χ²=8.40， P=0.010）， while it was still higher in 12‒ months old MF group （9.69%） than in AF group （2.92%） （χ²=9.68， P=0.002）.

Conclusion There is no significant difference in body weight，body length， head circumference， and the detection rates of overweight， obesity， low body weight， growth retardation and emaciation among the groups of different feeding patterns in the children aged 6‒12 months. The detection rate of iron deficiency anemia in the EBF and MF groups is significantly higher than that in the AF groups of children aged 6‒ and 12‒ months old.