Frequent Use of Baby Food Pouches in Infants and Young Children and Associations with Energy Intake and BMI: An Observational Study.
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Date
2024-09-19
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
Rights
(c) 2024 The Author/s
CC BY 4.0
CC BY 4.0
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Most wet commercial infant foods are now sold in squeezable 'pouches'. While multiple expert groups have expressed concern about their use, it is not known how commonly they are consumed and whether they impact energy intake or body mass index (BMI). The objectives were to describe pouch use, and determine associations with energy intake and BMI, in infants and young children.
METHODS: In this observational cross-sectional study of 933 young New Zealand children (6.0 months-3.9 years), pouch use was assessed by a questionnaire ('frequent' use was consuming food from a baby food pouch ≥5 times/week in the past month), usual energy intake using two 24-h recalls, and BMI z-score calculated using World Health Organization standards.
RESULTS: The sample broadly represented the wider population (27.1% high socioeconomic deprivation, 22.5% Māori). Frequent pouch use declined with age (infants 27%, toddlers 16%, preschoolers 8%). Few children were both frequent pouch users and regularly used the nozzle (infants 5%, toddlers 13%, preschoolers 8%). Preschoolers who were frequent pouch users consumed significantly less energy than non-users (-580 kJ [-1094, -67]), but infants (115 [-35, 265]) and toddlers (-206 [-789, 378]) did not appear to have a different energy intake than non-users. There were no statistically significant differences in the BMI z-score by pouch use.
CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support the strong concerns expressed about their use, particularly given the lack of evidence for higher energy intake or BMI.
Description
Keywords
baby food pouch, body mass index, energy intake, food pouch, infant, Humans, Energy Intake, Infant, Body Mass Index, Male, Cross-Sectional Studies, Child, Preschool, Female, New Zealand, Infant Food, Feeding Behavior, Surveys and Questionnaires
Citation
McLean NH, Bruckner BR, Heath A-LM, Haszard JJ, Daniels L, Conlon CA, von Hurst PR, Beck KL, Te Morenga LA, Firestone R, McArthur J, Paul R, Cox AM, Jones EA, Katiforis I, Brown KJ, Casale M, Jupiterwala RM, Rowan MM, Wei A, Fangupo LJ, Healey M, Pulu V, Neha T, Taylor RW. (2024). Frequent Use of Baby Food Pouches in Infants and Young Children and Associations with Energy Intake and BMI: An Observational Study.. Nutrients. 16. 18. (pp. 3165-).