Drinks consumed by 18-month-old children: are current recommendations being followed?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the types of drinks consumed by children at 18 months of age, determine any associations with socio-demographic characteristics and investigate the use of a bottle for providing these drinks.
DESIGN: A total of 1026 randomly chosen children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC) were studied.
METHODS: As part of a dietary diary completed when their children were 18 months of age, mothers were asked to record all drinks consumed over a 24 h period and to report the containers used to give these drinks. Socio-demographic characteristics were obtained via self-completion questionnaire.
RESULTS: Dietary records were available for 1026 children at 18 months. A wide variety of drinks were given at this age. In all, 64% of children had received at least one drink in a bottle and 10% solely used a bottle. Bottle users consumed a significantly greater volume of milk drinks compared to those who used a cup or other container. The types of drinks consumed and adherence to the guidelines on weaning were associated with several socio-demographic characteristics. In particular, children with mothers of lower educational level were more likely to receive fizzy drinks and low-calorie soft drinks, more likely to drink from a bottle, and less likely to drink from a cup.
CONCLUSION: We have shown that certain groups of mothers with 18-month-old children are not following the current guidelines on weaning. Assuming these guidelines have scientific validity, it is clear that nutritional education needs to be targeted at these mothers to help them feed their children in the optimal way, to protect from nutritional deficiencies, possible later obesity and poor dental health. SPONSORSHIP: University of Bristol.