Dietary pattern with high dairy intake is associated with linear growth in Peruvian infants

Post‐natal linear growth faltering is a multi‐factorial process that is affected by children's diet and infectious exposures. Little research has documented how young children's dietary patterns are related to growth, so we reanalyzed previously collected data from young children in Trujillo, Peru to assess these relationships. Dietary intakes of children 6–8 months of age at baseline were assessed prior to and at the mid‐point of a 6‐month zinc supplementation trial [Brown, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2007].Food and breast milk intakes were assessed by direct observation and weighing for 1–2 days at each time. The intakes at the mid‐point when children were 9–11 months of age were used for these analyses, as all children were consuming complementary foods by this age. Dietary pattern factors, with energy from 14 food groups as inputs, were derived by principal components analysis with orthogonal transformation. Linear growth was assessed at baseline and 6‐months. A linear regression model with the change in length‐for‐age z‐score (DLAZ) as the outcome was used with all derived dietary factors entered as independent variables along with covariates including initial LAZ, age, gender, intervention group, low maternal height (<145 cm), persistent diarrhea episodes, an index of socioeconomic status, and total energy. The mean DLAZ was −0.11 (0.41 SD).Five dietary patterns were derived that explained 54% of the variation in the intakes, with the greatest proportions of variation being explained by a ‘potato, meat, vegetable’ pattern (14%) and a ‘dairy’ pattern (12%).The dairy pattern score was positively associated with DLAZ (p=0.008). None of the other dietary patterns were significantly associated with DLAZ. Higher socioeconomic status was also associated with greater DLAZ (p=<0.0001). DLAZ was lower among children whose mothers had low height (p=0.03). While breastfeeding throughout the first year of life is important for young children's healthy growth, the introduction of animal source foods, such as dairy products, to children's diets is important given their nutrient profile that includes high quality protein, bioavailable micronutrients and possibly other bioactive components that are essential for growth. The importance of dietary quality and the multiplicity of nutrient factors in foods should be recognized in efforts to reduce linear growth faltering globally. Support or Funding Information Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant # OPP1112895