Dietary patterns of 6–24‐month‐old children are associated with nutrient content and quality of the diet

We determined the associations of dietary patterns with energy/nutrient intakes and diet quality. Previously collected single 24‐hr dietary recalls for children aged 6–11 months (n = 1,585), 12–17 months (n = 1,131), and 18–24 months (n = 620) from four independent studies in low socio‐economic populations in South Africa were pooled. A maximum‐likelihood factor model, with the principal‐factor method, was used to derive dietary (food) patterns. Associations between dietary pattern scores and nutrient intakes were determined using Kendall's Rank Correlations, with Bonferroni‐adjusted significance levels. For both 6–11 months and 12–17 months, the formula milk/reverse breast milk pattern was positively associated with energy and protein intake and mean adequacy ratio (MAR). The family foods pattern (6–11 months) and rice and legume pattern (12–17 months) were positively associated with plant protein, fibre, and PU fat; both for total intake and nutrient density of the complementary diet. These two patterns were also associated with the dietary diversity score (DDS; r = 0.2636 and r = 0.2024, respectively). The rice pattern (18–24 months) showed inverse associations for nutrient intakes and nutrient densities, probably because of its inverse association with fortified maize meal. The more westernized pattern (18–24 months) was positively associated with unfavourable nutrients, for example, saturated fat and cholesterol. These results highlight that underlying dietary patterns varied in terms of energy/nutrient composition, nutrient adequacy, nutrient densities of the complementary diet, and dietary diversity.