Check baby's diet

At six months of age, infants need complementary food that provides them adequate energy, protein and micronutrients for optimal growth. Mother’s love and good nutrition are the most important ingredients for the healthy growth and development of a child. Medical experts are however concerned that many children aged 6-24 months do not get adequate nutrition for optimal growth.

Babies grow rapidly in the first year of their lives. They double their birth weight by 6 months and triple it by 12 months. As a result, they need much higher energy and key vitamins and minerals than adults, relative to their size. Their nutritional requirements keep changing with passing months and it is important to provide them adequate nutrition according to their age.

WHO recommends that infants should be exclusively breast-fed till they reach the age of six months. Nutritional recommendations for the complementary feeding period are based on the concept that breast milk will not meet full requirements for energy, protein, and micronutrients beyond about 6 months of age. Mother’s milk alone after six months is insufficient to meet nutritional requirements. If continued for long, it may result in under-nutrition. According to the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) guidelines issued by the Ministry of health and Family Welfare in February 2013, inadequate nutrition is a contributory factor in one third to half of all deaths taking place in children under five years of age. About 43% children in India under five years are reported to be underweight and 48% are stunted. Hence, it is important to introduce complementary feeding at the right time to meet the increasing nutritional demand of an infant.

Adequate complementary food builds immunity and provides necessary nutrition for the child’s physical growth. It also ensures proper cognitive and psychological development. A 6 to 8 months old child needs around 200 kilocalories a day from sources other than mother’s milk. Experts say a child of this age group needs to be given complementary foods a minimum of two times a day.

Immuno-nutrients such as zinc, iron and vitamin A & C strengthen immunity. Energy, protein, calcium and vitamin D fulfill growth requirements. And essential fatty acids, iron, and iodine assist in cognitive development.

To be adequate, complementary feeding needs to include different food groups so that the growing child receives all the essential nutrients.

These groups include: (i) grains, roots and tubers, legumes and nuts, (ii) dairy products, (iii) meat, fish, and poultry, (iv) eggs,  (v) fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A, (vi) other fruits and vegetables.

It is recommended that children should to be given food from at least four of these groups for well-balanced nutrition. In India, however, only 36% of children aged 6-23 months receive this type of diverse diet, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3.

Safety and hygiene should be an utmost consideration while preparing and feeding the child. The risk of pathogens contaminating the food needs to be minimized. The diet should not contain preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, and harmful chemicals. Timely and adequate complementary feeding leads to a child’s optimal growth, improved cognitive development and reduced risk of diarrhoea, respiratory infections, and micro-nutrient deficiencies like anaemia.

(The writer is a nutritionist)