Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial
Early life is critical for developing healthy eating patterns. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a Nordic, protein-reduced complementary diet (ND) compared to a diet following the current Swedish dietary guidelines on eating patterns and food acceptance. At 4–6 months (mo) of age infant...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/2/275 |
| _version_ | 1797405833536995328 |
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| author | Ulrica Johansson Lene Lindberg Inger Öhlund Olle Hernell Bo Lönnerdal Saara Lundén Mari Sandell Torbjörn Lind |
| author_facet | Ulrica Johansson Lene Lindberg Inger Öhlund Olle Hernell Bo Lönnerdal Saara Lundén Mari Sandell Torbjörn Lind |
| author_sort | Ulrica Johansson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Early life is critical for developing healthy eating patterns. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a Nordic, protein-reduced complementary diet (ND) compared to a diet following the current Swedish dietary guidelines on eating patterns and food acceptance. At 4–6 months (mo) of age infants were randomized to a Nordic group (NG, <i>n</i> = 41) or a Conventional group (CG, <i>n</i> = 40), and followed until 18 mo of age. Daily intake of fruits and vegetables (mean ± sd) at 12 mo was significantly higher in the NG compared to the CG: 341 ± 108 g/day vs. 220 ± 76 g/day (<i>p</i> < 0.001), respectively. From 12 to 18 mo, fruit and vegetable intake decreased, but the NG still consumed 32% more compared to the CG: 254 ± 99 g/day vs. 193 ± 67 g/day (<i>p</i> = 0.004). To assess food acceptance, both groups were tested with home exposure meals at 12 and 18 mo. No group differences in acceptance were found. We find that a ND with parental education initiates healthy eating patterns during infancy, but that the exposure meal used in the present study was insufficient to detect major differences in food acceptance. This is most likely explained by the preparation of the meal. Nordic produce offers high environmental sustainability and favorable taste composition to establish healthy food preferences during this sensitive period of early life. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:16:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61178690468044c7b6b39bd17593ed83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:16:56Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-61178690468044c7b6b39bd17593ed832023-12-03T15:18:13ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582021-01-0110227510.3390/foods10020275Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled TrialUlrica Johansson0Lene Lindberg1Inger Öhlund2Olle Hernell3Bo Lönnerdal4Saara Lundén5Mari Sandell6Torbjörn Lind7Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, SE 901 85 Umeå, SwedenDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet and Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, SE 104 31 Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, SE 901 85 Umeå, SwedenDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, SE 901 85 Umeå, SwedenDepartment of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAFunctional Foods Forum, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, FinlandFunctional Foods Forum, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, FinlandDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, SE 901 85 Umeå, SwedenEarly life is critical for developing healthy eating patterns. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a Nordic, protein-reduced complementary diet (ND) compared to a diet following the current Swedish dietary guidelines on eating patterns and food acceptance. At 4–6 months (mo) of age infants were randomized to a Nordic group (NG, <i>n</i> = 41) or a Conventional group (CG, <i>n</i> = 40), and followed until 18 mo of age. Daily intake of fruits and vegetables (mean ± sd) at 12 mo was significantly higher in the NG compared to the CG: 341 ± 108 g/day vs. 220 ± 76 g/day (<i>p</i> < 0.001), respectively. From 12 to 18 mo, fruit and vegetable intake decreased, but the NG still consumed 32% more compared to the CG: 254 ± 99 g/day vs. 193 ± 67 g/day (<i>p</i> = 0.004). To assess food acceptance, both groups were tested with home exposure meals at 12 and 18 mo. No group differences in acceptance were found. We find that a ND with parental education initiates healthy eating patterns during infancy, but that the exposure meal used in the present study was insufficient to detect major differences in food acceptance. This is most likely explained by the preparation of the meal. Nordic produce offers high environmental sustainability and favorable taste composition to establish healthy food preferences during this sensitive period of early life.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/2/275infant feedinghealthy eatingfood preferenceeating behaviorrepeated exposurevegetables |
| spellingShingle | Ulrica Johansson Lene Lindberg Inger Öhlund Olle Hernell Bo Lönnerdal Saara Lundén Mari Sandell Torbjörn Lind Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial Foods infant feeding healthy eating food preference eating behavior repeated exposure vegetables |
| title | Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full | Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_fullStr | Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_short | Acceptance of a Nordic, Protein-Reduced Diet for Young Children during Complementary Feeding—A Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_sort | acceptance of a nordic protein reduced diet for young children during complementary feeding a randomized controlled trial |
| topic | infant feeding healthy eating food preference eating behavior repeated exposure vegetables |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/2/275 |
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