Dietary habits of partly breast-fed and completely weaned infants at 9 months of age

OBJECTIVE: To test whether there are differences in diet diversity between children still being partly breast-fed at 9 months and those completely weaned at the same age.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Cross-sectional study (SKOT cohort) in the area of Copenhagen, Denmark.

SUBJECTS: Healthy term infants (n 312) at 9 months of age (mean 9·1 (SD 0·3) months).

RESULTS: The infants partly breast-fed (n 168) at 9 months had significantly lower body weight (P < 0·0001), were significantly shorter (P = 0·0022) and were introduced to complementary foods significantly later (P < 0·0001) than completely weaned infants (n 141) of similar age. Furthermore, they had lower intake of energy, both in absolute amount (P < 0·0001) and per kilogram of body weight (P = 0·049). Significantly lower intakes of most energy-yielding nutrients, in absolute amounts and as energy percentages, were seen for the partly breast-fed compared with the completely weaned infants. These differences appear to be caused primarily by differences in the type and amount of milk consumed, as the energy derived from sources other than milk was similar except for fatty spread and vegetables as a side dish. Only small differences were found for absolute intakes of foods between feeding groups, although fatty spread had significantly higher intake rates and consumption (P = 0·031) among partly breast-fed compared with completely weaned infants.

CONCLUSIONS: At 9 months the infants partly breast-fed did not eat a less diversified diet compared with those completely weaned at the same age. Despite later introduction to complementary foods compared with the completely weaned, their intake of foods was similar and no delay in their progression towards the family foods was noted.