Socioeconomic, cultural and demographic maternal factors associated with dietary patterns of infants

OBJECTIVE: To analyze dietary patterns of infants and its association with maternal socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic variables. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with two groups of mothers of children up to 24 months (n=202) living in the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Northeast Brazil. The case group consisted of mothers enrolled in a Family Health Unit. The comparison group consisted of mothers who took their children to two private pediatric offices of the city. Dietary intake was assessed using a qualitative and validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The evaluation of the FFQ was performed by a method in which the overall rate of consumption frequency is converted into a score. RESULTS: Children of higher income families and mothers with better education level (control group) showed the highest median of consumption scores for fruits and vegetables (p<0.01) and meat, offal, and eggs (p<0.01), when compared with children of the case group. On the other hand, the median of consumption scores of manufactured goods was higher among children in the case group (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal socioeconomic status influenced the quality of food offered to the infant. In the case group, children up to 24 months already consumed industrial products instead of healthy foods on their menu.