Ear ly cow's mi lk consum ption amon g Brazi lian c hild ren: resu lts of a nationa l surve y ☆

Objective: to assess the intake, frequency, and type of milk consumed by Brazilian chil- dren younger than 60 months of a ge. Methods: t his was a cross-sectional study, which used secondary data from the National Demographic and Health Survey o f 2006-2007. Data from 4,817 children under the age of 60 months were used. All analyses were performed with expanded samples. The die- tetic survey assessed t he previous day's consumption, and estimates were made through univariate analysis, presented as a percentage. Results: on the day prior to the survey, breast milk was consumed by 91% of t he chil- dren younger than six months of age, by 61.5% of the children aged 6 to 12 months, and by 34.8% of t he children aged 13 to 24 months. Among t he children who had received other types of milk, cow's milk was consumed by 62.4% of the children younger than six months, by 74.6% of the children aged 6 to 12 months, and by approximately 80% of the children older than 12 months. Infant formulas were consumed by 23% of t he children younger than six months of a ge, by 9.8% of t he children aged 6 to 12 months, and by less than 1% of t he older children. Soy milk consumption varied from 14.6% to 20% among t he investigated a ges. Non-breast milk consumption before the age of six months was more frequent in children living in the Northeastern and Southern regions. Conclusion: the results of t he present study demonstrated t hat most children received cow's milk prematurely as a substitute for breast milk, highlighting t he importance of the development of public policies to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding in all regions of Brazil, aiming at reversing t he observed scenario. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.