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 (P50?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
(P50?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 (P50?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.