Comparison of food and nutrient intake in infants aged 6–12 months, following baby‐led or traditional weaning: A cross‐sectional study.

Background: A baby‐led approach to weaning (BLW) encompasses self‐feeding and self‐selecting graspable foods, offering an alternative to traditional weaning (TW). This cross‐sectional study explored adherence to characteristics of BLW and differences in food group exposure and nutrient intake between babies following either TW or BLW. Methods: Nutritional data were collected via multiple‐pass 24‐h recall, following parental completion of an online survey. Results: Infants were grouped according to age (6–8 months; TW [n = 36] and BLW [n = 24]) and (9–12 months; TW [n = 24] and BLW [n = 12]). BLW babies were more likely to be breast fed (p = 0.002), consumed a higher percentage of foods also consumed by their mother (p = 0.008) and were fed less purees (p < 0.001) at 6–8 months. TW babies were spoon fed more (p ≤ 0.001) at all ages. Amongst babies aged 6–8 months, total intake (from complementary food plus milk) of iron (p = 0.021), zinc (p = 0.048), iodine (p = 0.031), vitamin B12 (p = 0.002) and vitamin D (p = 0.042) and both vitamin B12 (p = 0.027) and vitamin D (p = 0.035) from complementary food alone was higher in babies following TW. Compared to TW, BLW babies aged 6–8 months had a higher percentage energy intake from fat (p = 0.043) and saturated fat (p = 0.026) from their milk. No differences in nutrient intake were observed amongst infants aged 9–12 months. Few differences were observed between groups in their number of exposures to specific food groups. Conclusions: TW infants had higher intakes of key micronutrients at 6–8 months, although there were few differences in nutritional intake at 9–12 months or food group exposure between babies following TW or BLW. BLW appears to be socially desirable. Guidance for parents is required, along with larger, longer‐term studies, which explore the potential impact of BLW in later childhood. Highlights: Babies following baby‐led weaning (BLW) were more likely to be breast fed, consumed a higher percentage of foods also consumed by their mother, were fed fewer purees and were less likely to be spoon fed at 6–8 months, than babies following traditional weaning (TW). This is consistent with both previous research and the general ethos of BLW.More parents self‐reported following BLW than were identified more objectively by researchers, with over 55% of TW parents reporting following BLW. This may indicate that the ethos or key tenets of BLW are misunderstood or that BLW is socially desirable amongst parents in this study.Intakes of key nutrients (iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin B12 and vitamin D) were higher amongst babies aged 6–8 months following TW compared to those following BLW. Intakes of vitamin B12 and vitamin D were higher from complementary food alone (when not including nutrients from milk).Fewer differences in nutrient intake or the way in which babies were fed were observed amongst babies aged 9–12 months, than amongst babies aged 6–8 months, indicating that older babies were more likely to have transitioned towards self‐feeding and the family diet, regardless of weaning style.As expected, younger TW infants had more exposures to iron‐fortified infant cereal and commercially produced baby foods but overall, food group exposure varied little between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]