Human Milk, Infant Formula, and Other Milks Fed to Infants and Toddlers in the United States, NHANES 2007-2018
Date
2022-11-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Abstract
Background
For the first time, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide specific guidance regarding the types of foods and beverages that should be offered in the first 2 years of life. Milk, in various forms (eg, human milk, infant formula, and cow’s milk) contributes a large proportion of key nutrients to the diets of infants and toddlers in the United States.
Objective
The aim of this study was to determine the types of milk (human milk, infant formula, and other milk) fed to US infants and toddlers in the past 12 years and to describe trends over time.
Design
This was a cross-sectional analysis of 2-day, 24-hour dietary recalls.
Participants/setting
Data from the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for these analyses. Infants and toddlers aged 0 through 23.9 months with 2 days of dietary recall data (n = 3,079) were included.
Main outcome measures
The main outcome was proportion of infants and toddlers fed different milk types.
Statistical analyses performed
Survey-adjusted weighted percentages were used to report sociodemographic characteristics and the proportion of subjects fed each milk type category by age group and survey cycles. Binary and multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess differences in subject characteristics by age groups.
Results
Sociodemographic characteristics did not differ by age group. The proportion of infants aged 0 to <6 months fed infant formula only was 60.2% in 2007-2012 and 44.8% in 2013-2018. The proportion of infants aged 6 to <12 months fed partially hydrolyzed infant formula only was 7.3% in 2007-2012 and 13.1% in 2013-2018. In toddlers (>12 months old), cow’s milk was the predominant milk type in both 2007-2012 and 2013-2018.
Conclusions
The percentage of infants fed any human milk increased over the past decade. Unsweetened cow’s milk was the most predominate milk type consumed among toddlers.
Description
This article was originally published in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.10.017
Keywords
NHANES, nutrition, diet, survey, children
Citation
Decker, Jessica E., Michelle T. Delahanty, Adam Davey, Shannon M. Robson, and Jillian C. Trabulsi. “Human Milk, Infant Formula, and Other Milks Fed to Infants and Toddlers in the United States, NHANES 2007-2018.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, November 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.10.017.