Transition from milks to the introduction of solid foods across the first 2 years of life: findings from an Australian birth cohort study

BACKGROUND The current literature regarding the transition from milks to solid foods across the first 2 years of life is limited despite the important influence of early dietary intake on children's growth and development. The present study describes dietary intake from birth to 2 years across four developmental relevant time-points within an Australian birth cohort. METHODS Dietary data from 466 infants was collected at four time-points in the first 2 years of life via parent-reported questionnaire, including a 45-item food and beverage frequency questionnaire. Subsample analyses of children who were aged 1-3, 6-8, 12-14 and 18-20 months at the time of data collection were conducted. RESULTS Infant formula remained consistently consumed by over 75% of children from the 6-8- to 18-20 months old age groups. Mean (SD) age of introduction to solid foods was 5.2 (1.3) months. Almost 20% and 10% of children were introduced before 16 and after 32 weeks, respectively. The highest consumption of core foods, recommended for a healthy diet, daily was seen in the 12-14 months old age group with lower proportions in the 18-20 months old age group coinciding with an increased proportion of children eating discretionary choice foods, not recommended for a healthy diet. Discretionary choice foods/beverages presented in children's diets as early as in the 6-8 months old age group. By 18-20 months, at least 20% of children were consuming savoury biscuits, sweet biscuits, muesli bars and luncheon meats at least twice a week. CONCLUSIONS The present study identified a number of findings outside the recommendations of the Australian Dietary and Infant Feeding Guidelines. Further work is warranted to explore these outcomes.