Alimentação na primeira infância: abordagem para a promoção da saúde

Abstract

Early childhood is a crucial period for the development of eating practices that may remain throughout life. It is also an important period in the development of eating difficulties which, if not resolved, can lead to delays in child growth and development. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of maternal food and nutrition on infant feeding, as well as the eating difficulties triggered in the first three years of life and associated determinants. In its first stage, an integrative review was carried out based on the PICO search strategy, and with the following guiding question: Is there evidence that maternal nutrition influences nutritional disorders in infants? In its second stage, a cross-sectional study was carried out using a representative sample of children under three years of age in the municipality of Lavras, in the south of Minas Gerais. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire applied to caregivers on days of pediatric care at Basic Health Units and/or during home visits. For the assessment of feeding difficulties, the Brazilian Child Feeding Scale was used, and food consumption was assessed using the Food Consumption Markers of the Food and Nutritional Surveillance System. The children's nutritional status was classified using the body mass index for age indicator. The strength of association between the dependent and independent variables was assessed using the odds ratio, both in the univariate and in the multiple analysis, with a significance level of 5%. Maternal dietary diversity was one of the protective factors for children's height deficit and a predictor of their children's dietary variety, consequently influencing their children's food consumption. Fasting practices in maternal feeding are among the common factors of child malnutrition. In the second stage, 229 children aged between six and 36 months participated, predominantly female (53.7%) and black/brown/yellow/indigenous (70.3%). The prevalence of eating difficulties was 5.2%. The variables statistically associated (p<0.05) with eating difficulties in the multiple analysis were the family receiving government aid [OR 6.237 95%CI 1.179-32.992], highlighting being female [OR: 0.115] as protection 95%CI 0.018-0.722]. It is concluded that maternal nutrition is a protective factor for the development of nutritional disorders in early childhood. Male children belonging to families that received financial assistance from the Government were more likely to have eating difficulties. It is necessary to create a network of specialized care for the reception and handling of cases of children in early childhood with eating difficulties, as well as their families, minimizing the negative effects caused by the condition and providing more pleasurable meal times.