Mexico Case Study

BACKGROUND: Feeding patterns of Mexican infants and toddlers has required large amount of effort due to shortness of recent reliable data. The double burden of obesity and micronutrient undernutrition is public Health problem in Mexico.

OBJECTIVE:  This document reviews a series of papers reporting the FITS Mexico effort. Findings related to the manner in which infants and toddlers are currently fed were analyzed.

DESIGN: Secondary data analyses from a nationally representative sample of over 5000 children from ENSANUT 2012 was used to review in depth the feeding and drinking patterns of Mexican children.

RESULTS: Low rates of exclusive breastfeeding were found in the under 6-month old infants. 31 and 35% of 6-11.9 month old babies consumed Cow´s milk or SSB respectively. 50% of 6-47-9 month old children consumed fruit and 85% consumed no vegetables once a day. After 12 months of age, over 80% of toddlers consumed SSB on any given day. 18-36% of toddlers did not meet the iron EAR and about 40% did not meet the Zinc EAR. More than 30% of toddlers exceeded their UL of sodium daily.

CONCLUSION: Feeding patterns in Mexican children seem to establish early in life. Food groups consumed with poor micronutrient and high energy consumption might explain the nutritional condition for the Mexican population. Regional experts have used this information to make recommendations for healthy infants. Public policy must change accordingly