The U.S Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has issued new dietary guidelines for Americans, specific to a person’s age. Part of the report advises parents what to feed their babies and toddlers.
The Committee found that breastfeeding may reduce the risk of overweight or obesity, type 1 diabetes, and asthma, as compared to never being breastfed. The study found evidence that suggests that a longer duration of breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of type 1 diabetes and asthma, but it was unclear what the optimal duration of breastfeeding is.
The report also mentions complementary foods and beverages (CFB). These are foods that infants and toddlers eat as they transition to the foods that are in the meals the family eats. CFBs should not be introduced to infants before age 4 months. Introducing CFBs at age 4 to 5 months, as compared to 6 months, does not offer long-term advantages or disadvantages.
The Committee recommends parents provide foods that are rich in iron and zinc during the second 6 months of life among breastfed infants. Parents also need to provide CFBs that contain adequate amounts of polyunsaturated fats.
Interestingly, they also found evidence that introducing peanut and egg, in an age appropriate form (after age 4 months) may reduce the risk of food allergy to these foods. The evidence for such protective effects is less clear for other types of foods, but the Committee found no evidence that avoiding such foods in the first year of life is beneficial with regard to preventing food allergies or other atopic diseases.
Another recommendation is avoiding consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) by children younger than 2 years. One reason is that the energy contributed by these beverages leaves less “room” for energy from nutritious CFBs. This could lead to nutrient gaps. Limited evidence suggests that SSB consumption by infants and young children is related to subsequent risk of the child becoming overweight.
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